The Papaya King

Adam Pelzman

Summary

"An eccentric outsider is baffled by contemporary Manhattan in this engrossing second novel" by Adam Pelzman. —Kirkus Reviews
 
Bobby Walser’s tragic childhood has left him a man frozen in time and mired in a world of his own making—one that has little in common with reality. Genteel and old-fashioned, his manners and habits are more suited to an aristocrat from a Chekhov play than to a young man on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
 
Haunted by his failure to live up to the legacy of his great father, Walser’s sense of ineffectuality is compounded when he suffers a series of deflating professional setbacks. He’s baffled by the people around him, and his only solace is the hope of a romance—conducted via handwritten letters—with a mysterious woman who may not even exist.
 
As his despair with twenty-first century life reaches a breaking point, Walser bristles at a newly constructed sculpture that represents everything he loathes about these times. Realizing that he has more to care about—and fight for—outside himself, he marches toward a final showdown with this towering symbol of oppressive technology.
 
"This is another entrancing, deeply memorable offering from Pelzman … Devilishly sharp social commentary." —Kirkus Reviews

Available since: 07/12/2019.

2 Comments

24symbols EN

In his second novel Pelzman offers us a sharp social study of our times. His protagonist Bobby Walser is a young introverted writer who seems to have sprung out of a Russian novel (Pelzman himself studied Russian literature) and is oddly out of place on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. While trying to find his feet as a writer he clashes with reality and clings to his romantic penmanship with Rose – an mysterious woman who might not even exist… When he discovers a new sculpture that confronts him with everything he despises about the 21st century, he realizes that it is time to man up and fight for his values. What on first sight may appear old-fashioned is really the core principle of civilization: mutual respect. A great novel to rethink today’s tendency for self-indulgence and social detachment. More book recommendations on https://www.24symbols.com/24stories/en/the-best-books-of-the-moment/
24symbols EN

This book was featured as one of the best books of the moment. Have a look at our Magazine to discover our best books of the moment, a handpicked and periodically updated selection of the books you simply cannot miss: https://www.24symbols.com/24stories/en/the-best-books-of-the-moment/

About the author

Adam Pelzman

Adam Pelzman studied Russian literature at the University of Pennsylvania and received a law degree from UCLA. Born in Seattle and raised in northern New Jersey, he has spent most of his life in...

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