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The Double Life Is Twice as Good

Essays and Fiction

About The Book

Wildly original novelist, essayist, and performance artist Jonathan Ames delivers a hilarious, risqué, and loveable selection of articles, essays, and fiction, including several previously unpublished pieces.

In The Double Life Is Twice as Good, fans will be treated to a deft and charming compilation of Ames’s journalism, personal essays, and short fiction. Featuring illuminating profiles of Marilyn Manson and Lenny Kravitz, his adventures at a goth festival in the Midwest, a story written for Esquire on a napkin, as well as a comic strip collaboration with graphic artist Nick Bertozzi, Ames’s unique style and personality-driven humor shines throughout this wickedly funny collection. Also included is the short story, “Bored to Death,” a Raymond Chandler–esque tale about a struggling writer-turned-detective who becomes quickly embroiled in the search for a missing college co-ed, which inspired the HBO series of the same name. Described by The Portland Oregonian as “an edgier David Sedaris,” Ames will have you hooked with this brilliant collection.

About The Author

Photo Credit:

Jonathan Ames is the author of I Pass Like NightThe Extra ManWhat’s Not to Love?My Less Than Secret LifeWake Up, Sir!I Love You More Than You KnowThe Alcoholic; and The Double Life Is Twice As Good. He’s the creator of the HBO® Original Series Bored to Death and has had two amateur boxing matches, fighting as “The Herring Wonder.” His most recent work is the detective novel A Man Named Doll

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (July 14, 2009)
  • Length: 224 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781439102336

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Raves and Reviews

"Bizarrely disparate: The topics range from prostitution to goth to tennis, but in Ames's capable hands the disparity works." -- Penthouse

"This hilarious, often harrowing compendium of articles and essays find [Ames] immersed in demented endeavors...certain to make his many fans snicker and squirm." -- Booklist

"Filled with its share of Ames classics." -- Kirkus Reviews

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