When I moved to New York, fresh from college, double liberal arts degrees in hand and looking for work in book publishing, I ordered a subscription (The Weekender! Natch!) to the New York Times. Reading the Times every weekend was part of my idea of the New York version of myself, something I had mashed together from my just-post-college ambitions and my nervousness, and from reading novels about people in similar situations in the city. I imagined I would read the paper over coffee and a bagel

I can safely say that I've never read anything like this book before. The closest I could get would probably be D.H. Lawrence's 'Sons And Lovers' but, considering this book's protagonist's mother doesn't even make an appearance, it's not THAT close at all...I bought this book because I enjoyed Jonathan Ames' t.v. sit-com 'Bored To Death' a great deal, so I figured I'd probably enjoy his novels too. If anybody else is riding a similar train of thought, I'll say that 'The Extra Man' isn't much lik...

Well, I thought I loved Wake Up, Sir! last week, but this Ames novel has taken the cake. It's ending was far more satisfying and the entire thing much more complex and novely. Novel-ish?If you'll recall, I was intrigued while reading the last book because the novelist/narrator was working on another book, which sounded a lot like this one. And I thought to myself, "Whoa... meta..." No, seriously, I thought to myself - damn I like this book a lot, but the book he's writing in this book sounds eve...

Good thing Half-Price books was having a 20% off sale on Saturday, cuz my book buying addiction is getting serious... Just started this one today, and am half way done... Why do I find his wacky characters so appealing? Cluttered tiny Upper Eastside apt shared by 2 eccentrics. Transvestite bars. Guilt-ridden sexual escapades. Flying stuffed animal lions falling from the sky. My new favorite phrase: "curious maladjustment". Is Jonathan Ames straight and single? haha.

It's about Louis Ives and he's a closet deviant, but the complexity of his needs slowly dawns on the reader as the story continues. The comedy of the situation is that Louis wants to be a gentleman, in the style of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and he makes an effort every chance he gets to behave that way. While Louis fights within himself over his deviance, his roommate, Henry Harrison, provides the outright ridiculous dialogue that makes the book pure gold. The prose in both the descriptions and dialo...

There's a whole lot of hubbub about Ames but I don't understand it and after reading this book I'm thinking that maybe it's all been an elaborate hoax, cooked up by Brooklyn boosters and NPR affiliates to ruin my weekend.

Louis Ives is a young graduate and self-styled gentleman with fantasies of transvestism. Due to an impulse to wear a colleague's bra whilst at work he finds himself unemployed and looking for a fresh start in life. Louis resolves to move from Princeton, NJ, to New York City.Short of cash, Louis searches for accommodation he can afford and this is where he meets Henry Harrison.Henry is a playwright turned teacher from an old-money, high society family, fallen on hard times. As well as teaching he...

What a strange and frequently funny novel.The Extra Man is about an orphan with aspirations toward living as a Fitzgeraldian "young gentleman" and finding a mentor to that effect in New York City. Extra Man is also about how neuroses get in the way of our aspirations, and how normalcy itself is its own kind of neurosis. Ultimately though, Extra Man is about finding an unusual kind of love in a circuitous, sad way.The two central characters of Extra Man are not particularly likeable, but they are...

I enjoyed the hell out of this book, but I failed to review it before returning it to the library. Alas, this Jonathan Ames...all right, let's call it a classic...is by far one of the funniest books I've read all year. As my recent reading of My Less than Secret Life informs me, this book is not far from the embarrassing truth of Ames' reality. His character is a young man who fancies himself as a young Gentleman in the tradition of an F. Scott Fitzgerald character. He moves to New York City in

I wanted to like The Extra Man more than I did. There are things about the book I loved but I found myself working to keep going sometimes.I think one of my biggest issues is Louis, the main character. I found him to be compelling at some points and downright irritating in others. I have no problems with a sexually insecure character in love with the idea of becoming a gentleman. In fact, I was happy he didn't come off as contrived as he could have. There was nothing about him that felt false or...

I've begun to realize that books whose jacket flap copy says they are "hilarious" yet "poignant" or some such variation are not for me. This seemed to go nowhere forever. The relationship between roommates Henry and ... Chr*st, I can't even remember what the protagonist's name was now, and I just read the thing last night ... doesn't really hit a crisis point until the very end, really. And the protagonist (I can only remember his last name, Ives, and the moniker he used when he was picking up y...

Perfect for a fun read. Brilliantly drawn characters, fleshed out so that they are real humans, not "types" or "character" although they are eccentric or even weird. The writing is bright and witty, but still allows one to empathize with Louis' loneliness, longings, and occasional sadness. Parental warning: X-rated for revealed body part, sex with fluids, trannies & cross-dressers, but never salacious, and never gratuitous (if there is sex, it reveals something about the character's innher self)...

I really wanted to give this 3.5 stars but I can't, that said this book was thoroughly enjoyable despite the fact that the main character is an annoying eccentric. It seems like a lot of reviewers read "Wake up, Sir" first, I read this first and am now reading "Wake up, Sir" so the meta references in WUS are meaningful to me. In any event this is a fun read though a bit gritty, the characters are well developed and never dull.

This was the second of two Jonathan Aames novels I've read. I read "Good Morning, Sir" first, loved it and wanted more (I'd already read several of his non-fictions). What I got was greater depth, a wider range of great characters and honest, quirky, thought-provoking events and the commentary that goes with them. I saw the movie after reading "The Extra Man." Read the book. It's great!"

This is a hilarious story of two men who are the epitome of "eccentric" yet find each other in the big city. It's an insightful journey into the lives of men who don't fit into the binary that we typically try to fit people into -- male/female, gay/straight, rich/poor.

I love this author. I love this book. It's hysterical, seedy, perverted, honest. A page-turner. I wish I could read it all over.

What an off, engaging, sad, funny book. Ames seems to excel at characters that are somehow endearing and unlikeable, if that's even a thing. The struggles of the narrator, Louis Ives, with his sexual explorations is especially interesting to read now, when transsexualism is as accepted as it's ever been (though we still have so, so far to go). And Henry Harrison, with his arch conservative views and his admiration of Russia. Donald Trump even makes a cameo, trying to insert himself into the high...

This is the truest version of a 3-star book, one that sort of fucks with my over-generous rating system. Ames has a unique voice, one that transcends genre (YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE and this and WAKE UP, SIR! all have it, not to mention his TV writing) and that is always a delightfully droll strange voice to spend some time with... but what, exactly, is this book? It's ~decidedly~ different from the film it was adapted into, although the film does have plenty of the book in it. There is, yes,

A very memorable and bizarre comic novel. Twentysomething Louis Ives becomes the room mate of the much older Henry Harrison in New York in the early 90s, and this book covers a few months of their life together. It’s very funny - their habit of watching Are You Being Served together - and also very twisted - when Louis starts responding to adult ads in the back of the newspaper. It’s thought to be at least semi autobiographical - maybe even 90% - and won’t be for everyone, but if you can make it...

Read "Wake Up, Sir" and was excited to read "The Extra Man". However, I was disappointed. The writing was good -- can't fault Ames -- but nothing else was enjoyable about the story other than the antics of the character Henry Harrison. Even the narrator, whom I'm sure is modeled after Ames himself, seemed to be stuck in repetitive behavior, learning nothing and never growing or changing.And why wouldn't Mary have said something to Louis about her missing bra? It was a tense and revealing part of...

I was searching for a novel for my month's recommendation for our reading group and came across The Extra Man. What a delight! What wonderful unforgettable characters! I'm usually a slow reader but I couldn't put this book down...got curious glances at the coffee shop where I usually read mornings, but not usually laughing and chuckling as I read. I can't wait for others in the group to read this novel. We are due for a fun read...with plenty of offbeat details to discuss and possibly identify w...

Never read something this complex before, had my good days and bad days with this book. It is one of my first Jonathan Ames books - and his writing is capable of stirring various chords with the reader - u feel the pain and helplessness and then wonder why Louis Ives or Henry is putting themselves through all this pain in their daily lives and yet soldering through. Henry remained a mysterious and unpredictable character for me till the very end - a survivor.

Ugh. I found the main character tiresome and his companion not so interesting. the Amazon synopsis calls Louis "as interesting as an F. Scott Fitzgerald hero", which should have been my first clue to run a mile - I find F. Scott Fitzgerald boring too.... There was no growth or change and everything felt the same at the end as it did at the beginning. I started out liking it but by half way through I was bored.

It was... okay? The ending was unsatisfying, the sleeping with a sixteen year old was super gross, and the general 'real girls vs. trans girls' stuff was annoying. But there were moments throughout the book that were worth reading, like the little moments of intimacy between Louis and Henry. The moment with the neck-tie was amazing - I just wish it had actually led to something between them instead of just constant will-they-won't-they.

This is such a beautifully neurotic picture of New York and the lonely and often eccentric characters it sometimes attracts. I could almost hear the honking of the taxis and the hiss of steam rising from the sidewalks as I turned the pages late into the night. Occasionally explicit, often laugh out loud funny, and wonderfully New York, I highly recommend it.

Interesting book about a New Jersey man moving to New York during the 90s. Interesting relationship develops between his housemate and the protagonists explores cross dressing community in New York during this time

Ames tackles some familiar themes - sexual and social insecurity, becoming an adult - but takes an approach that surprised me with its tenderness. This is a rare moving-to-new-york story that I actually liked.

Quirky tale of two eccentric roommates sharing a tiny apartment in Manhattan.

Overall, an alright read. Some bits were quite slow but better chapters held the book together. The dry sense of humour was the best part.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was a slice of life, it felt genuine and well told, and it was funny without trying too hard.