Hark

October 8, 2018
Lipsyte (The Fun Parts) pillories the mindfulness movement in this acerbic and surprisingly moving novel of a hesitant guru and his self-involved inner circle. Failed comic Hark Morner writes a book and launches an unexpected craze for “mental archery,” a practice combining disconnected ramblings of invented history, opaque aphorisms, and yogalike poses. Among his devoted inner circle are Kate, an aimless and wealthy 20-something who finances the movement; Teal, a convicted embezzler and unlicensed marriage therapist; and Fraz, a middle-aged man disappointed by his career stagnation and tense marriage. Hark rejects their schemes to monetize his teachings and offers only oblique answers to questions, saying that the only point is to focus. Facing pressures from tech magnate Dieter Delgado, who wants to co-opt mental archery, Hark retreats to the Upstate New York home of true believer Meg. When Fraz accidentally injures his young daughter, he pleads for Hark to call for a worldwide focus to help her survive a coma, leading to a wild conclusion an unexpected denouement. This is a searing exploration of desperate hopes, and Lipsyte’s potent blend of spot-on satire, menacing bit players, and deadpan humor will delight readers.

November 1, 2018

Hark Morner has developed something called mental archery, replete with bow-and-arrow allusions and 52 exercises/poses aimed at getting people to "focus"--although upon what Hark can't or won't say--and he becomes an unwitting guru when a small band of followers promote his program into a global phenomenon. In the near-future that serves as setting, the world is in apparent chaos (at least there's a massive ground war in Europe, with sides not clearly determined), and people grasp at any bit of hope, although the program certainly has its detractors. Hark, iconic and laconic, is content to coast along, only at the end recognizing that he has missed a broader mission. And the end? Hark is martyred (with an arrow, no less) just after he "raises" the daughter of his principle disciple, but the disciples suspect he is not "gone," and indeed he reappears at times, although not corporeally. Hints of a Christ story that floats around throughout the novel are more pronounced in the closing pages. VERDICT This work is clever but not as hilarious as advertised. The writing is fluid and stylish, and though a slow start might lose many readers, the pace does accelerate. Has Lipsyte (The Fun Parts) written a tonic for our times? Maybe. [See Prepub Alert, 7/16/18.]--Robert E. Brown, Oswego, NY

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2018
A reluctant messiah inspires people to focus in a time of chaos.Lipsyte (The Fun Parts: Stories, 2012, etc.) assembles a motley ensemble for his first novel since The Ask (2010) put him squarely on America's literary map, but it's mostly a sour, disaffecting experience that's reflective of our troubled times. The novel's central character is a guru-light type named Hark Morner who preaches a New Age-y discipline called "Mental Archery," a goofy combination of mindfulness, made-up history, some yoga, and visualizations based around archery. Unfortunately, Lipsyte assembles his story through the point of view of the supporting characters, most of whom are miserable misanthropes when they're not around Hark. The author's primary avatar is Frank "Fraz" Penzig, whose primary characteristics are being the "old guy" at 46 years old, locked in a miserable, combative marriage with his wife, Tovah, and father to two kids. Also floating around is their patron, Kate Rumpler, who's a felon due to having offed her pervert uncle and supremely rich since her parents crashed their private plane, and Teal Baker-Cassini, the intellectual who lends Hark's harebrained discipline some credibility. There are no real villains here, barring the tech titan who wants to commercialize Hark's movement and a weird cult that shows up late in the game to oppose it. As usual, Lipsyte's command of language is sublime--Hark's directive to "Actuate the world" could come straight out of the Silicon Valley parodies that are so prolific lately--but the dubious premise and deeply unlikable characters sour the already-tart satire that the author is proposing. The book has its twists: After Hark has a meltdown in St. Louis and one of the cast members suffers a potentially heartbreaking grievance, there's an opportunity to shift the narrative to a more believable scenario, but instead the story descends into its own sad, inevitable stew of nonsense.Magical realism works great for some authors, but Lipsyte ends up closer to the ending of the television show Lost than to any substantial prosecution of contemporary society.

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November 1, 2018
A mindfulness guru and the seekers who surround him animate this comic meditation on technology, authenticity, and end-times anxiety by celebrated satirist Lipsyte (The Ask, 2010). It's not that Hark, peddler of koan-like wisdom on the theme of mental archery, has all the answers. On stage at corporate gigs, or online at Hark Hub, mostly he's just free-associating, riffing on bow-and-arrow metaphors, exploring (and perhaps exploiting) the overlap between the vague and the profound. Yet to his followers?slacker-dad Fraz; road-team Seth and Teal; Kate, an accidental murderer; the mysterious Meg217 ?Harkism is a lifeline, the chance to master their private biospheres of panic and decay. Lipsyte suggests that Hark may be a huckster, unworthy of his disciples' devotion, but his most heartfelt concerns crystallize around Fraz, who, despite his proximity to Hark, cannot resuscitate his marriage or save his kids from a degraded, distracted future. Lots of characters and a jumbly plot make for a clamorous read. But Lipsyte also offers high-velocity moments in which bleakness and humor, the quotidian and the apocalyptic all gloriously converge.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)