Balladeer of the city's broken and forgotten men, Joseph G. Peterson looks for inspiration in urban side streets and alleys, where crooked schemes are hatched, where lives end violently, and where pretty much everyone is up to no good. Depicting the lives of people who have woefully lost their way in the world-criminals and victims, the unemployed and unemployable, the neglected and the indigent, the lonely and the alone-Peterson nonetheless brings a poet's touch to his work, which is redolent with allegory, allusion, and ...
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Balladeer of the city's broken and forgotten men, Joseph G. Peterson looks for inspiration in urban side streets and alleys, where crooked schemes are hatched, where lives end violently, and where pretty much everyone is up to no good. Depicting the lives of people who have woefully lost their way in the world-criminals and victims, the unemployed and unemployable, the neglected and the indigent, the lonely and the alone-Peterson nonetheless brings a poet's touch to his work, which is redolent with allegory, allusion, and Nabokovian wordplay. His last novel, Beautiful Piece, garnered praise from across the literary spectrum. Enter Wanted: Elevator Man, his powerful and ambitious new novel and the story of Eliot Barnes Jr., a man at the end of his proverbial rope. Haunted by the larger-than-life shadow of his father, a scientist who may have helped develop the atomic bomb, twenty-nine-year-old Eliot Barnes, Jr., is an apple that's fallen far from the tree. Saddled with a useless degree in literature, caged in a rundown apartment he can't afford, and embittered by his failure to live up to the future's promise, Barnes, who dreams of a corner office-an aerie roost high above the city, working with the higher-ups-begrudgingly accepts a job as an elevator man in a downtown Chicago skyscraper. Thus begins a profound but comedic meditation on failure in this life, how one comes to terms with not achieving one's dreams, the nature and origin of such dreams, and, fittingly, the meaning of the American dream itself. As unflinching as Nelson Algren and as romantic as Saul Bellow, Peterson's novel boasts wildly surreal plot twists and a lethal wit that frequently erupts into full-on hilarity. Wanted: Elevator Man is the perfect tale for learning to cope with diminished expectations in these dark and desperate times.
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Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man to cart. $1.49, very good condition, Sold by Open Books Ltd rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Northern Illinois University Pre.
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Very good. Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that provides literacy experiences for thousands of readers each year through inspiring programs and creative capitalization of books.
Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man to cart. $1.49, good condition, Sold by Open Books Ltd rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Northern Illinois University Pre.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that provides literacy experiences for thousands of readers each year through inspiring programs and creative capitalization of books.
Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man to cart. $7.00, very good condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Northern Illinois University Press.
Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man to cart. $9.00, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Northern Illinois University Press.
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Very good. SIGNED and inscribed by the author. Minor shelf and handling wear, overall a clean solid copy with minimal signs of use. Secure packaging for safe delivery.
Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man to cart. $9.91, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2012 by Northern Illinois University Press.
Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man (Switchgrass Books) to cart. $20.04, like new condition, Sold by Prominent Trading Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2012 by Cornell University Press.
Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man (Switchgrass Books) to cart. $37.76, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Northern Illinois University P.
Add this copy of Wanted: Elevator Man (Switchgrass Books) to cart. $70.86, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Northern Illinois University P.
