by Mark Leyner
The Esquire columnist and humorous author (Et Tu, Babe) has penned a gonzo parody of a wannabe writer's coming-of-age. A 13-year-old character named Mark Leyner is taken to a New Jersey prison to witness his father's execution by lethal injection. But the drugs don't work; Dad is released, and Mark gets high and hits the sack with the female warden...and so on. Leyner's manic, free-form plot—a mélange of autobiography, screenplay and movie review—is intended as a wicked commentary on society's compulsion to make private lives public. It's also a forum for Leyner to show off his knowledge of history, literature and pop culture—there are references to everything from the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire and Ezra Pound's Cantos to Dior Cellulite Control Complex and Special K (the drug, not the cereal). The book is also filled with what Leyner says are "the basic things that a 13-year-old boy does—talk on the phone, surf the Net, watch TV, listen to music and masturbate." There is much of the latter. Maybe you have to be a guy—or 13—to appreciate it. Tetherballs may give you a few chuckles, but it gets tiresome very quickly. (Crown, $22)
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