SURVIVING GEN X

In Szewczyk’s novel, Las Vegas serves as a playground for young people exploring relationships, sexuality, and the still-new internet in the 1990s.

An unnamed taekwondo fighter narrates this novel, navigating his everyday life, friendships, and relationships during the turbulent final decade of the 20th century. His anecdotal journey consists of wild parties, rendezvous, hangovers, and hookups. A “Fetish and Fantasy Ball” culminates in the end of his long-term relationship with a ballet dancer named Daphne but marks the beginning of his friendship with a French little person named Gene, who becomes the narrator’s dependable partner-in-crime in various questionable activities, as well as his confidant. Later, at a Fourth of July party, he meets a bold, wisecracking, and deeply troubled young woman who calls herself Trixie; finally, online, he connects with Annie, with whom he falls deeply in love. Although Annie and the narrator don’t meet in person until nearly midway through the story, she’s the focus of several short stream-of-consciousness chapters, including the first, and they’re often accompanied by Nicodemus’ pen-and-ink illustrations of women in bondage. Other short chapters feature Trixie and a doctor named Michelle who’s suffering from lupus. In his semiautobiographical novel, Szewczyk plunges readers into a seedy world, often as seen through the eyes of a ruthlessly descriptive narrator. The nameless protagonist initially appears to be callous, but his relationships endearingly uncover the kindness and vulnerability hidden behind his crassness and recklessness. A notable example is his friendship with Gene; the narrator pays tribute to Gene’s brother, whom he helped care for as he was dying of complications from AIDS: “Jim, the only guy who could kick my ass; Jim, the guy who took on an entire anti-gay protest in front of Gipsy’s…Jim, the guy who lost over 150 pounds in a few weeks.” Annie and Trixie are also multifaceted characters, written with empathy and compassion, especially in their relationships with their own bodies. Fans of postmodern literature will enjoy this vivid, dark, and sometimes humorous tale.

An intimate, gritty, and compelling exploration of love, loss, sex, and trauma.