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Simon
Rich's debut collection of short stories, Ant Farm,
is an amusing book. Rather than the intellectually-stimulating
and socially critical way in which a David Sedaris or Sarah
Vowell book is amusing, however, Rich's Ant Farm is
funny the way a schoolyard joke or a particularly low brow
episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force is funny: It appeals
to the lowest common denominator.
Divided
into five sections by relative stages of life—elementary
school, high school, the working world, sex and relationships,
and spirituality—Ant Farm is a series of very
short narratives that reads quickly: The entire book can be
read in about a half-hour sitting. This could be considered
a plus or minus depending on the reader. For those who don't
have much time to spend reading, Ant Farm's super-short
length is a positive; marathon readers, however, will find
themselves done reading before they have truly settled into
Rich's style.
Ant
Farm provides a lot of laughs, but it's not a deep sort
of laughter. Most of the jokes can be reduced to one-liners:
little Milo's mom bangs a whole hockey team one-by-one, a
dad hides booze all over the house only to be discovered by
little Seymour's friends at a slumber party, and so on. Though
the plots are simplistic, the humor of each piece makes the
reading good for a laugh, if not much else.
Rich
is at his best in the slightly longer narratives that hint
at a more nuanced commentary on the human condition. For example,
in "My Friend's New Girlfriend," an awkward ninth grade boy
gushes in awe of his friend's "Canadian fashion model girlfriend"
named "Tiffany Sparkle." Yes, the joke is an old one, but
the narrator's voice is appealing because his naïveté comes
across as sweet rather than cloying.
Another
standout is "A Conversation at the Grown-ups' Table as Imagined
at the Kids' Table," which was recently published in The
New Yorker. In a simplistic dialogue format, such "adult
secrets" as what God looks like and the crazy-making appeal
of wine are discussed. The reader is sure to see some of his
or her own childhood beliefs represented in the child-imagined
narrative.
Sophomoric
and light, Ant Farm is a breezy read that provides
some laughs, but all its content can probably be absorbed
in a quick thumb-through at one's local Borders.
(September,
2007)
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