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    The Cry of the Sloth: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Cry of the Sloth: A Novel
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    The Cry of the Sloth: A Novel
    Ebook234 pages4 hours

    The Cry of the Sloth: A Novel

    By Sam Savage

    5/5

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    About this ebook

    The tragicomic tale of a frustrated writer angry at the world: “Scathingly funny.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
     
    Living on a diet of fried Spam, vodka, sardines, cupcakes, and Southern Comfort, Andrew Whittaker is slowly being sucked into the morass of middle age. A negligent landlord, small-time literary journal editor, and aspiring novelist, he is—quite literally—authoring his own downfall. From his letters, diary entries, and fragments of fiction, to grocery lists and posted signs, this novel is a collection of everything Whittaker commits to paper over the course of four critical months.
     
    Beginning in July, during the economic hardships of the Nixon era, we witness our hero hounded by tenants and creditors, harassed by a loathsome local arts group, and tormented by his ex-wife. Determined to redeem his failures and eviscerate his enemies, Whittaker hatches a grand plan. But as winter nears, his difficulties accumulate, and the disorder of his life threatens to overwhelm him. As his hold on reality weakens and his schemes grow wilder, his self-image as a placid and slow-moving sloth evolves into that of a bizarre and frantic creature driven mad by solitude . . .
     
    “Most of the novel consists of Whittaker’s hilarious rejection letters to wannabe authors. Savage works page after page of delightful variations on this theme.” —The Guardian
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateNov 16, 2010
    ISBN9781566892643
    Author

    Sam Savage

    Sam Savage is the best-selling author of Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife, The Cry of the Sloth, Glass, and The Way of the Dog. A native of South Carolina, Savage holds a PhD in philosophy from Yale University. He was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, the PEN L.L. Winship Award, and the Society of Midland Authors Award. Savage resides in Madison, Wisconsin.

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    Reviews for The Cry of the Sloth

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    • 5/5
      Savage is a rare literary gem! Whittaker reminds me to a degree of the bathtub bound narrator of Robert Kroetsch's The Studhorse Man - a truly memorable character. Narration via "correspondence", although a generally tired device, is shown here to still have potential to surprise.

      2 people found this helpful