Tom Lynch

Mid-nineties-set, post-college-fallout novels featuring a narrator strung out on boredom and uneventful indecision tend to get a bit pedestrian, boring and uninspired themselves. But playwright Adam Rapp's "The Year of Endless Sorrows" (doesn't the title make you want to gag?) doesn't tumble into the pitfalls and is actually a very pleasing, heartfelt and winning novel. His narrator lives in New York City and works at a publishing house for meager pay; he's trapped by three unclean roommate dudes (plus roaches), an affair with the boss' daughter and an office job that, of course, sucks. The inevitable office-work humor is there--the narrator's boss even farts a lot--but, surprisingly, at the end of this angst-ridden adventure, there's heart. And along the way, Rapp doesn't really piss you off all that much, which, given the subject matter, is an incredible feat in itself.

Adam Rapp discusses "The Year of Endless Sorrows" February 7 at The Garage at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1624 North Halsted, (312)335-1650, at 7pm. Free. (2007-01-30)

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