American Author Blog 2

I am going to be as unoriginal as I possibly can and post the first page of Youth in Revolt as my favorite segment. The truth is that I no longer have this book in my possession and therefore had to resort to browsing the internet until I found a sample of the book on the beloved Amazon.com. That being said I feel that it is important to mention that this is a very good excerpt from the novel and does quite a good job of foreshadowing a recurring theme. With no further ado, here is page one of the Journals of Nick Twisp.

"The next thing you should know about me is that I am obsessed with sex. When I close my eyes, ranks of creamy thighs slowly part like some X-rated Busby Berkeley extravaganza. Lately I have become morbidly aware of my penis. Once a remote region accessed indifferently for businesslike micturition, it has developed -- seemingly overnight -- into a gaudy Las Vegas of the body, complete with pulsing neon, star-studded floor shows, exotic animal acts, and throngs of drunken conventioneers perpetually on the prowl for depraved thrills. I walk about in a state of obsessive expectancy, ever conscious of an urgent clamor rising from my tumescent loins. Any stimulus can trigger the show -- a rhythmic rumble from the radiator, the word 'titular' in a newspaper editorial, even the smell of the old vinyl in Mr. Ferguson's Toyota" (page 1).

C.D. Payne has a very unique writing style, in his literary world there is no such thing as being "politically correct" or "keeping it PG", Mr. Payne writes what he wants to write in the way that he feels will get the most out of his audience, whether that "most" is a wince or a chuckle is the luck of the draw. Mr. Payne also uses "big words" constantly. In any other novel following the life of a teenager the reader would not expect to come across phrases such as "tumescent loins" or "businesslike micturition". Because C.D. Payne has created a character who uses such resounding language he has created instantly (on the first page) a tone that he can use throughout the novel.

Weekly Reading Update:
Finished with Book 1, yet to start book two. In possession of book 2 which is titled appropriately Revolting Youth: The Further Journals of Nick Twisp.