Inherited Disorders: Stories, Parables & Problems - Softcover

Sachs, Adam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1682450813 ISBN 13: 9781682450819

Publisher: Regan Arts., 2017

Synopsis

A son receives an inheritance from his father and tries to dispose of it before it destroys him. Inherited Disorders tells this elemental story in over 100 hilarious, witty variations.

Adam Ehrlich Sachs’s Inherited Disorders is a rueful, absurd, and endlessly entertaining look at a most serious subject—the eternally vexed relations between fathers and sons. In a hundred and seventeen shrewd, surreal vignettes, Sachs lays bare the petty rivalries, thwarted affection, and mutual bafflement that have characterized the filial bond since the days of Davidic kings. A philosopher’s son kills his father and explains his aphorisms to death. A father bequeaths to his son his jacket, deodorant, and political beliefs. England’s most famous medium becomes possessed by the spirit of his skeptical father—who questions, in front of the nation, his son’s choice of career. A Czech pianist amputates his fingers one by one to thwart his father, who will not stop composing concertos for him. A nineteenth-century Italian nobleman wills his ill-conceived flying contraption—incapable of actual flight—to his newborn son. In West Hollywood, an aspiring screenwriter must contend with the judgmental visage of his father, a respected public intellectual whose frozen head, clearly disappointed in him, he keeps in his freezer. Keenly inventive, but painfully familiar, these surprisingly tender stories signal the arrival of a brilliant new comic voice—and fresh hope for fathers and sons the world over.

About this title

About the Author

Adam Ehrlich Sachs studied atmospheric science at Harvard, where he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. His fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, n+1 and McSweeney's, among other places. He lives with his wife in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Review

One of Buzzfeed's Incredible New Books You Need to Read This Summer

"Mr. Sachs's debut [of] brief comic sketches . . . [is] a darkly glittering gem."

—Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

"One of the funniest books of the year."

—Publishers Weekly

"Inherited Disorders is just plain funny . . . Sachs has a finely tuned sense of humor and an economical writing style that gives each story plenty of punch."

—Michael Patrick Brady, Boston Globe

" . . . stellar debut collection . . . Sachs proves himself a perceptive observer of human nature and a distinctly promising talent."

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Adam Ehrlich Sachs's debut marks the arrival of a major humorist. If Kafka and Louis CK were to join forces, they might produce something like Inherited Disorders: absurd, wise, and extremely funny."

—Simon Rich, author of Spoiled Brats and creator of Man Seeking Woman

"Don't miss out on this one . . . poignant and absurd . . . with an exceedingly light touch that floats, skips, and hops into a punch line."

—Matthew Zeitlin, Buzzfeed

"Darkly hilarious."

—Adam Kirsch, Tablet

“In Inherited Disorders, Sachs displays a rare kind of genius: storytelling that’s humorous and absurdist, but also slyly compassionate and layered. There’s much wisdom about father-son relationships to accompany the intricate and sometimes laugh-out-loud literary fireworks. And in the process, Sachs captures the true richness and strangeness of the world—something of a classic in the making and a favorite read of the past few years.”

—Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation

"Endlessly sharp and engaging from start to finish."

—Mary Vensel White, The Rumpus

Edition details

• Publisher: Regan Arts.
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1682450813
• ISBN 13: 9781682450819
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272