The Dunning-Kruger Effect - by Andrés Stoopendaal

About the Book

"Originally published in Sweden in 2021 by Norstedts as Dunning-Kruger-effekten"--Title page verso.

Book Synopsis

"Darkly, deeply funny, and acclaimed abroad, this biting satire" (Booklist) follows an over-educated, under-employed man as he struggles to complete his novel and get his life together over the course of one scorching Swedish summer.

Convinced of his own moral and intellectual superiority, the nameless protagonist of this debut novel is also paralyzed by self-consciousness. Yet, inspired by Stephen King's On Writing, he decides to dedicate four hours a day to work on his own novel over the course of one summer. Only, he must also balance his creative goals with a part-time government job and looking after his girlfriend's possibly brain-damaged Pomeranian dog.

Too bad he's uninspired by his job, almost kills the dog, and realizes his novel is slowly morphing into misguided fan fiction about French writer and enfant terrible Michel Houellebecq.

Even when he's alone, he can't help but pontificate before an imagined audience, making over-the-top cases for and against all manner of culture war battles and obsessing over identity politics. He's an emblem of all the follies of our age--happily unaware that in his refusal to be ordinary, he's become a walking cliché of misguided manhood.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a portrait of a person belatedly coming of age, a blistering takedown of a privileged man who believes he's a revolutionary, and "a crackling firework display of comic brilliance" (Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden).

Review Quotes

"Darkly, deeply funny and acclaimed... this biting satire portrays a meandering class of millennial men living a seemingly consequence- and purpose-free existence." --Kirkus

"As a millennial of the depicted demographic group...I feel pinpointed by [Stoopendaal's] clear-eyed satire of a generation of 'pretend adults' with a pathological need to justify work that is neither obviously meaningful nor reflective of their desired identity...We have on our hands one of the sharpest portraits of this generation. Stoopendaal has a devilish eye for the laughable and cringe-inducing." --Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark)

"The Dunning-Kruger Effect is vigorous and sparkling proof that questions regarding gender, class and identity politics can be depicted in literary form without delivering empty slogans...I laughed my way through The Dunning-Kruger Effect. There are funny scenes from relationships, couples' dinners, and plenty of philosophizing, and a gorgeous abundance of literary ambition." --Information (Denmark)

"[A] crackling firework of comic brilliance. The narrator's self-preoccupation spins so far and uninhibitedly that it inevitably turns into something completely different." --Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden)

"An intelligent and ironic humor that you rarely find in contemporary literature. . . Original and very entertaining." --Kapprakt (Sweden)