Arthur Nersesian Book order (chronological)

Set against a backdrop of humor and chaos, this story follows a group of eccentric characters navigating the absurdities of life. With a blend of fierce determination and hysterical misadventures, they confront personal challenges and societal norms, leading to unexpected friendships and revelations. The narrative explores themes of resilience and the power of laughter, ultimately celebrating the quirks of human nature in a delightfully entertaining way.

A novel of a young man’s adventures in New York City by an author who is “part Lewis Carroll, part Franz Kafka” ( Library Journal ). This tale introduces us to Joey, a New York City graduate student. Brought up by emotionally—and physically—distant adoptive parents, he has no idea what his heritage really is, though he did decide to try being Jewish after being dragged into a mitzvah tank by a Hasid. Now he has worked his way through most of a graduate history program at Columbia University—but when his academic fellowship from a mysterious benefactor is suddenly rescinded, he will be led into a furious and bizarre quest—in a novel from an acclaimed author praised for his ability to blend dark, fantastic satire with genuine human feeling. “Paranoid fantasy and fantastic comedy in the service of social realism . . . At its best, [ Manhattan Loverboy ] assays the grittiest, funkiest urban-magic-realism yet, creating a satirical fiction avidly in search of the truth it’s all too aware is even stranger than itself.” — Downtown “Nersesian renders Gotham’s unique cocktail of wealth, poverty, crime, glamour, and brutality spectacularly . . . But in the end, it is Joey’s search for his own identity that makes this book a winner.” — Rain Taxi Review of Books on East Village Tetralogy

Arthur Nersesian's underground literary treasure is an unforgettable slice of gritty New York City life.This is the darkly hilarious odyssey of an anonymous slacker. He's a perennial couch-surfer, an aspiring writer searching for himself in spite of himself, and he's just trying to survive. But life has other things in store for the fuck-up. From being dumped by his girlfriend to getting fired for asking for a raise, from falling into a robbery to posing as a gay man to keep his job at a porno theater, the fuck-up's tragi-comedy is perfectly realized by Arthur Nersesian, who manages to create humor and suspense out of urban desperation. "Read it and howl," says Bruce Benderson (author of User), "and be glad it didn't happen to you."