{"product_id":"the-material-a-novel-by-camille-bordas","title":"The Material: A Novel by Camille Bordas","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCan comedy be taught? Someone, at some point, seemed to think so. The Chicago Stand-Up MFA program has enrolled young comedians for nearly a decade.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIts teachers and students all know how bits work—in theory, at least. They know that there’s a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that the worst is the best, the truth is the worst, and any moment of your life that isn’t a punch line will either get you to a punch line or force you to be one.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThey’re all afraid to be one.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtie may be too handsome for standup, Olivia too reluctant to examine her own life, and Phil too afraid to cause harm. Kruger may be too vanilla to command his students’ respect, Ashbee too detached. And then we have Dorothy—the only woman on the program’s faculty—who though preparing to launch a comeback tour can’t tell if she’s too abiding, too ambitious, or too ambivalent.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhether a visiting professor—the high-profile, controversy-steeped comedian Manny Reinhardt—will do more to help or harm their cause remains to be seen. But he’s on his way. He’ll be arriving sooner than anyone thinks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRiffing keenly across a diverse array of precision-cut perspectives, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Material\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e examines life through the eyes of a reluctantly assembled ensemble, a band of outsiders bound together by the need to laugh and the longing to make others laugh even harder.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“With an emotional pendulum that can swing between pathos and bathos, [\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Material\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e] a high-wire act and masterclass in tone, observation and the beneath-the-surface substance.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e—\u003cem\u003eStyle Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sinuous, intelligent.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e—\u003cem\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Brimming with insecure characters, clever repartee, dark jokes and funny riffs. . . Bordas makes a case that [emotion and comedy can] coexist.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e—\u003cem\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePRODUCT DETAILS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Random House\u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e978-0593729861\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePages: 288\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Page \u0026 Turner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45045617393872,"sku":null,"price":845.0,"currency_code":"PHP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0568\/8000\/5328\/files\/81sdAjhgvIL._SL1500.jpg?v=1782119593","url":"https:\/\/pageandturner.ph\/products\/the-material-a-novel-by-camille-bordas","provider":"Page \u0026 Turner","version":"1.0","type":"link"}