Service (Paperback)

John Tottenham

ISBN 10: 1805227025 / ISBN 13: 9781805227021

Published by Profile Books Ltd, London, 2025

About this Item

Paperback. 'John Tottenham writes with a rare comic intensity' Colm Toibin'My favourite nihilistic romantic' Rachel Kushner What's this book about? Is there a restroom? Do you have gluten-free bagels? Do you work here? Do you have a restroom? Do I buy books or rent books or what? The worst thing about a bookshop is the customers. Then there's the gift-wrapping, the invoicing, the stock takes. The Yelp reviews that inevitably contribute to self-loathing. In his late forties, Sean is still a frustrated bookseller who should have written his novel already. Instead, he spends his days drowning in his overwhelming sense of contempt -for LA, for its readers, for its casual disdain for service. And what, or whom, is he serving anyway? Biting, hilarious and self-aware, John Tottenham's debut novel is a razor-sharp dissection of the modern scourges of gentrification, male vanity, jealousy and the worth of literature in a digital age. Life at a bookstore in LA through the eyes of a cynical English bookseller - irascible, witty and darkly humourous at his own expense and that of his unfortunate customers Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781805227021

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Service (Paperback)
• Publisher: Profile Books Ltd, London
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1805227025
• ISBN 13: 9781805227021
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

'John Tottenham writes with a rare comic intensity' COLM TÓIBÍN

'My favourite nihilistic romantic' RACHEL KUSHNER

'A brutally honest, insightful, intelligent and absolutely hilarious novel' MICHAEL IMPERIOLI

What's this book about? Is there a restroom? Do you have gluten-free bagels? Do you work here? Do you have a restroom? Do I buy books or rent books or what?

Still a bookseller in his late forties, Sean knows that the worst thing about a bookshop is the customers. Then there's the gift-wrapping, the invoicing, the Yelp reviews. The overwhelming sense of self-loathing after another day of not writing a novel yourself.

While Sean's book remains unfinished, his city has changed around him. As have friends and acquaintances, at least the ones who keep in touch. The service industry is different, too. But what, or whom, is he serving anyway? Biting, hilarious and self-aware, John Tottenham's debut novel is a razor-sharp dissection of gentrification, friendship, jealousy and the role of literature in a digital age.

About the Author

John Tottenham is a British-born artist and writer living in Los Angeles. He is the author of four volumes of poetry and writes a column in Artillery, and his paintings and drawings have been exhibited in solo shows in LA and New York. Service is his first novel.