“Fratire”, that’s what the NYT has dubbed this new genre of literature. It’s the Men are from Mars answer to “chick lit” like Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada. With titles like I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, The Alphabet of Manliness, and Real Ultimate Power: The Official Ninja Book, which reads like something my 13 year old nephew might write if he was trapped home one afternoon without all his video games, most of it reads like a reactionary celebration of being a self-centered asshole. Most of it seems, on the surface to be trite and self-celebratory. The kind of thing that would be published by someone who is deluded into thinking the world is “over-feminized”. I call it “Dick Lit”. And most of it is a big joke.
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There are a few nuggets of gold though. The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick up Artists by Neil Strauss is one of them.
The book is designed pompously like a bible complete with faux-leather and gilded pages. There are apparently 11 steps to pick up a girl, from “Step 1: Select a Target” through “Step11: Manage Expectations”. There are even vainglorious cartoons for each chapter with the author as a shaved-headed James Bond. But all of this is deceptive dressing for what turns out to be either a cleaver novel or an arresting non-fiction account of a wicked subculture of pick-up “artists”.
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The story is unbelievable: that a random nerd can be turned into, inside a year, a rakish Casanova capable of picking up the likes of Paris Hilton and Courtney Love. Yet I believe it. Brilliant guys turning their combined skills to the study of human interaction and the manipulation of it? It really isn’t that shocking. Look at what Bill gates has done for himself. Or Madonna. If they can transform themselves so can these narcissistic Pygmalions.
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The self-generated controversy about the “truthfulness” of the book adds to its patina of glamour. And it doesn’t really matter if every fact of the book is verifiable. The concrete facts here are merely to support the greater Truth of the story. And this story is ultimately about power, manipulation, and the difference between objective reality and a created reality.
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Neil Strauss either really did live in this sub-culture or he really did his home work on subcultures when creating it. Pick-up Artist culture sounds an awful lot like other subcultures. The Circuit Party scene is equally as obsessed with that ephemeral glamour that the guys in this book strive for. All subcultures, even casual ones, have a roiling battle of inclusiveness verses exclusion, personal politics, and the danger of cultish obsession presented here.
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I’m not really part of the target audience here, and I’m certainly not interested in picking-up women, but I did enjoy the book far more than I expected. I was annoyed by too many typos, but other than that the writing was very entertaining without insulting me and I was even introduced to a host of subjects from LA straight pick-up culture to neuro-linguistic programming. A fun read.
e
another good 'dick lit' (love that) title is 'I hope they serve beer in hell' by tucker max. to date, has been the best 'man's man' book on exploiting the opposite sex and writing (really well, i might add) about it. this book takes bragging rights to the next level. again...you wont be the target audience but definitely a entertaining read. i'll let you borrow it if you'd like.
Posted by: Benji | May 16, 2006 at 01:12 PM
Benj,
I may just take you up on that.
Posted by: e | May 16, 2006 at 01:42 PM
Trust Me...this community is a very real and very good thing.
Just don't let me near your wife or girlfriend.
Posted by: Cahnman | May 22, 2006 at 01:03 AM