Book Review: 2007-011 Ovenman by Jeff Parker

Ovenman by Jeff Parker
264 pages by Tin House Books, September 2007

Ovenman should end up being taught in MFA programs as an incredible example of a novel centered around voice.  That's not to say that all Jeff Parker has done is come up with a great voice, the characters and plot of Ovenman are fantatic as well.  But, he captures the voice of his protagonist (it's a bit tough to use the word hero here), When Thinfinger, from his very first thought, "For a moment, waking up after this caliber of drinking is like birth," and he is able to maintain that voice for the entire 264 pages, not wavering once.

And it is this voice that drives the novel forward.  Well, the voice of When, and the ingenious plot device of Post-it notes.  Yes, Post-it notes.  When has the unfortunate habit of drinking himself to blackout levels nightly.  He has also, however, come up with the shrewd idea of writing down what was going on just pre-blackout on these notes and plastering them onto his body.  Being re-birthed each morning, he pats himself down and slowly recalls his prior actions.

These actions include his being a true master of the fast moving world of the restaurant kitchen - and if Parker himself hasn't lived in this world, he did some excellent research because he nails all of the behind the kitchen door scenes in both nicer restaurants, and more open spaced pizza place When eventually ends up managing.

It is the managing of this location that leads to the biggest blackout event of the novel - finding out that the store was robbed one evening, after closing - and it's a blackout without the requisite Post-it notes the following morning.  While this brings a bit of mystery to Ovenman, the book is truly more about a certain group of people frequently skipped over by literary fiction - those in their early 20's that might see the X-Games as the pinnacle of sporting achievements, if they watched tv.  That tattooed, and pierced, not looking to become managers, or office workers, or even drivers of four wheeled vehicles.

When Ovenfinger's modes of transportation are a couple of different skateboards, and when he's not misplaced it, a Haro with a kinky triangular frame (though he does also own an old Ghia, which his friend constantly suggests they light on fire).  The people he hangs out with, if they have jobs, work in the back ends of restaurants or skateboard shops.  What Parker does though is what any great author should do, immerse his reader so deep into this lifestyle they probably haven't ventured near, and have them feeling they understand it completely.

While When goes through losing a job, gaining the pizza managerial position, difficulty with his girlfriend and their relationship, trying to figure out what happened in terms of the robbery, and everything else going on, he exudes the same, slightly bewildered yet still somehow knowing, attitude.  He's got a firmly developed attitude about restaurants and how they function, but nearly everything else about life is just a bit out of his reach.  And Parker brings this all home with wonderfully subtle humor.  There's a slight self-depreciatory tone to When's voice that, along with the Post-it notes, propels the reader deeper and deeper into the story.

While Ovenman isn't set up to be a mystery - not at all - the various strands of the plot are all tied up extremely satisfactorily as the novel comes to its close.  I read this book while waiting for a flight to board, and then finished it up while on the plane.  I never once minded where I was - Ovenman is that good.

4.5 stars

Comments

[Sharif]

Fascinating, thanks for the review. Do us, the regular mortals, have to wait till September?

[Dan Wickett]

I'm afraid those who did not attend BEA to pick up an Advance Reader's Edition will indeed, have to wait a bit longer for Jeff's book.

[Jonas Bezzel]

Parker kicks ASS!