{"product_id":"the-material-hardcover","title":"The Material - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eCamille Bordas\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A novel about an MFA program for stand-up comics better be damned funny, and \u003ci\u003eThe Material\u003c\/i\u003e is definitely that. It's also profound, deeply engrossing, dark, and generous, a great novel about humans making art right now.\"--Sam Lipsyte, author of \u003ci\u003eNo One Left to Come Looking for You\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Brilliance is on display here.\"--Percival Everett, author of \u003ci\u003eJames \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Trees\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCan comedy be taught? Someone, at some point, seemed to think so. The Chicago Stand-Up MFA program has enrolled young comedians for nearly a decade. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIts teachers and students all know how bits work--in theory, at least. They know that there's a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that the worst is the best, the truth is the worst, and any moment of your life that isn't a punch line will either get you to a punch line or force you to be one. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThey're all afraid to be one. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eArtie may be too handsome for standup, Olivia too reluctant to examine her own life, and Phil too afraid to cause harm. Kruger may be too vanilla to command his students' respect, Ashbee too detached. And then we have Dorothy--the only woman on the program's faculty--who though preparing to launch a comeback tour can't tell if she's too abiding, too ambitious, or too ambivalent. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhether a visiting professor--the high-profile, controversy-steeped comedian Manny Reinhardt--will do more to help or harm their cause remains to be seen. But he's on his way. He'll be arriving sooner than anyone thinks. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRiffing keenly across a diverse array of precision-cut perspectives, \u003ci\u003eThe Material\u003c\/i\u003e examines life through the eyes of a reluctantly assembled ensemble, a band of outsiders bound together by the need to laugh and the longing to make others laugh even harder.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCamille Bordas\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of three prizewinning novels. The most recent, \u003ci\u003eHow to Behave in a Crowd\u003c\/i\u003e, was the first she wrote in English. The earlier two, \u003ci\u003ePartie Commune\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e Les Treize Desserts\u003c\/i\u003e, were written in her native French. Her short stories have appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Paris Review\u003c\/i\u003e. She has been named a Guggenheim Fellow. Born in France, raised in Mexico City and Paris, she currently lives in Chicago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.03 x 9.5 x 6.28 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 11, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42697653583968,"sku":"9780593729847","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0598\/1922\/9280\/files\/c5abdabc932fec44811326f34b0fc987.webp?v=1775831961","url":"https:\/\/bijoucc.myshopify.com\/products\/the-material-hardcover","provider":"CARIBBEAN CONNECT","version":"1.0","type":"link"}