Forum - by Josh Wardrip (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In an unnamed town, an anonymous narrator scrupulously plans and commits an unspeakable, seemingly random act of mass-casualty violence. With a taut and nonlinear exposition that portrays with devastating precision an enigmatic loner's gradual transition from hedonistic anomie to an increasingly strange and sinister obsession, Josh Wardrip's brilliantly intricate debut novel gleefully dissects the raw existential horror of flophouses, mental hospitals, and everyday life. As a primal howl in the wilderness that doubles as an exquisitely structured puzzle, Forum is a meditation on delusion, interiority, and the sources of evil.

Review Quotes

"Shades of Jerzy Kosinski meets Michel Houellebecq at J.G. Ballard's High-Rise. A novel in risky fist-sized chapters featuring a protagonist who perambulates like a traveler in Anno's illustrated journeys. Hats off to Wardrip for his daring. An impeccable debut." -Richard Peabody, editor of Gargoyle Magazine

"Truly relentless-quite unlike anything I've read." -John Trefry, author of Plats



"Wrought with eerie, chilling tension, Forum explores the horrific depths of unexplained acts of violence. The experimental prose echoes the troubled, unnamed narrator who forces the world to ponder, how did we ever get here? This doesn't feel like a debut novel; rather, Forum feels like Denis Johnson, like Camus, like a fearless writer feeding off an urgency to venture far and wide. You won't have read a book like this: daring, stirring, and ever so timely and important." -Bradford Philen, author of When the Color Started