Rating: 
Summary: Totally good book anyone would enjoy!
Review: The anonymity of the narrator makes the story one which anyone can relate to. You end up feeling really sorry for him, and it ends on a really good note. THE FUCK-UP is well written and easy to read.
Rating: 
Summary: And you think YOU have bad luck. . .
Review: Somewhere it says that this book is supposed to be funny. I hate to admit that I didn't crack a smile through this whole thing (I just finished it moments ago) That doens't mean that it wasn't a good book. It held my attention since I started it a few days ago just because I couldn't imagine this guys life getting any worse and yet it does. The thing that I wondered the most though was ..what ever happened to the Mercedes?
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty great story, pretty dumb guy
Review: I lived in NYC as a 23 year old wanna-be writer and I can certainly relate to some of the experiences this chap went through. The story is oddly realistic & made me laugh out loud at times. I loved watching this plot twist & turn, but I was turned off by the really dumb decisions this kid was making. What would have fixed that is if we knew what drove this masochistic behavior. Because we never find out why he continues to make such bad decisions, this novel ends up screaming "watch this plot" instead of being an insightful story of a messed-up 90's kid struggling to make it in the big city.
Rating: 
Summary: Catcher in the Rye meets Trainspotting?
Review: You might get something like this book if you crossed JD Salinger with Irvine Welsh. The book was supposed to be funny according to comments on the outside of the jacket, but I didn't laugh once. What it does tho, is paint a very vivid scene of NY at the time. That much is so on the money, it's scary. It also gives a good reason why an out-of-towner living in NY needs to develop a better sense of street smarts and distrust of humans. Thus, you understand why native NYers are the way they are. I'm one. : )
Rating:
Summary: Excellent plot, told eloquently
Review: This book is totally absorbing. The plot twists and turns as the protagonist essentially ruins his life. He is charming all the way down, though, and I really enjoyed the simple writing style (perhaps harder in a way than the "poetry" referred to by a previous reader). The surprise ending put me in a good mood for days. Definitely a must if you are in your early twenties and living in NYC.
Rating:
Summary: Very OK
Review: This was a staff recommendation at my local bookstore. It was very OK. Try Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity" for laughs!
Rating:
Summary: Full of sound and fury, yet...
Review: The Fuck-Up is a pretty ideal airport book. The reader is given a story of a luckless and loveless New Yorker searching for identity and companionship, carrying with it all of the sadistic allure of a train wreck. The story, which basically amounts to the degeneration and rejuvination of a man's life, comes across as an egocentric account of the author's personal experiences living in New York. Nersesian has a presented to the reader a line of anecdotes that have no end, strung together with the protagonist being beaten up or chased; a convenient device which becomes trite after its third or fourth use. The language of the novel, while being modernist/impressionistic, lacks poetry. Sonorous and well constructed sentences are few and far between, precluding the reader from being enmeshed in the beauty of the language Despite this panning, The Fuck-Up is an interesting story, but is a far cry from great literature. It is a veritible one night stand, complete with a hot and heavy beginning, that comes to a quick and unsatisfying conclusion that leaves the reader asking "Did I miss something? Is that it?" Nersesian shows some legitimate beginnings of being a great writer, but The Fuck-Up simply does not deliver. With all due respect to Billy Shakespeare, The Fuck-Up is full of sound and fury, yet signifying very little...
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully dark commentary on man's search for belonging.
Review: Set in the dark urban environment of the East Village in the 1980s, Nersesian, through the eyes of an unnamed hero, brilliantly captures what every human being can easily relate to. That being the need to have someone give a damn. The Fuck Up's rather anti-climactic ending is the only reason this book does not get a 10.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, original and dark
Review: Nersesian's prose is idiosyncratically deadpan and absolutely hilarious, without a smidgen of romantic leavening. The story kicks into gear on page one and plows relentlessly forward to the improbable but perfect ending, through all manner of well-drawn scenarios, characters, locations and snafus. This book would make a great movie.... I hope he publishes more soon. A writer to keep an eye on.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly dull account of the life of a East Village loser.
Review: Written in clipped, awkward prose and full of the kinds of details usually reserved for a diary , THE FUCK UP manages to make one of the most vibrant New York neighborhoods sound boring. The novel follows the exploits of an unnamed protagonist trying desperately to find a way to make money without breaking a sweat. Along the way, he encounters several characters who give him a hard time, or occasionally solace. The book feels dated beyond belief, full of wonderfully in-the-know details that any freshman at NYU could provide, and probably with more detail and excitement. New York's East Village was a carnival in the mid-80's, and there are wonderful stories of that time to be told. Reading the FUCK UP is like hearing about a party from someone who didn't manage to get through the door.
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