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A Comedy of Nobodies

A Collection of Stories

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 10 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 10 weeks

Seinfeld meets Fleabag in A Comedy of Nobodies, the debut story collection from popular internet filmmaker Baron Ryan.

Charlie knows he's not the main character in his own story. He's just another schmuck in the Ivy League looking to be somebody. He plays in a terrible jazz band, falls in love too easily, and struggles with the human being business.

Written in a wry, comedic style, A Comedy of Nobodies: A Collection of Stories traces one fall semester in the lives of four typical but unforgettable university students who, as compensation for their existential anxieties, just want to feel understood.

As Charlie tries to find love using the scientific method, babysits a toddler for student financial aid, jumps out a window to escape a jealous football player's wrath, and enrages a packed hockey stadium by replacing the national anthem with a jazz-trio rendition of "American Pie," he discovers that the answers to life's most pressing questions are almost always just more questions.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Baron Ryan's first collection of short stories explores a semester in the lives of Charlie and his friends, who are students at Harvard. The author narrates his own work, lending his youthful voice to stories featuring the 36 questions to ask to fall in love, a tongue-in-cheek correspondence with a professor regarding a writing assignment, the "story behind the story," and other existential topics. Ryan's narration is leisurely, though occasionally a bit stale; however, there are some shining moments in which his authorial wry humor is captured in a droll quip. The stories are unique, creative, and timely--with a dash of humor punctuating the musings. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2024

      DEBUT Humorist Ryan's debut short story collection follows four friends, Charlie, Mike, Ted, and Nora, over the course of a semester at Harvard, as they go on bad dates, take advantage of free church brunch, and evade bullies and Russian mobsters. The quartet soak in every experience they encounter, often at their own peril, and refuse to stay inside their comfort zones. They hit numerous highs and lows, as in "The Last American Pie," when they work up the courage to play "American Pie" instead of the national anthem at a hockey game and are immediately booed out of the arena. The friends never cease to find the humor in a bad situation, meeting each challenge with a wryness reminiscent of Larry David. The stories are loosely connected through plot, but each has its own theme and wraps up nicely in a sometimes heavy-handed moral. The dialogue is fast-paced and quippy, with all the romance and pretensions of youth. VERDICT With their energetic narrative and relentless humor, Ryan's stories are both entertaining and thought-provoking, making this book endlessly quotable and hard to put down. Fans of Ryan's observational TikTok shorts will enjoy the same irreverent humor in this longer, immersive format.--Cate Triola

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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