Fuccboi
Welcome back to the third newsletter of Arroz con Mango! Although I had hoped to continue my weekly posting schedule on Tuesday, I was out of town this weekend and fell a bit behind. This week I’ll be talking about Fuccboi by Sean Thor Conroe. Fuccboi is autofiction a la Shiela Heti (which I’ll write about next week), but frankly not as good.
Let’s begin with some background. Fuccboi was one of the last projects picked up by the indie publishing house Tyrant Books, run by Giancarlo DiTrapano before he passed away in March of 2021. It was then picked up by Little, Brown & Company, who offered him a rumored 6 figure contract. Sean Thor Conroe shares a lot of similarities to fuccboi Sean: writer, half Japanese, Swarthmore grad, he decided to walk across the country after college, to name a few. Yet while real life Sean got his MFA at Columbia University, his fictional counterpart is slumming it in Philly.
I wasn’t previously aware of the Tyrant books phenomena, although I was familiar with some of their authors, and instead came across this book in a Bookforum review. The book’s silly title made me chuckle, but I was intrigued by the review’s casual drop of some drama in the lit world.
It appears before the book came out, Sean reached out to another author, Sam Pink, who is also known for his dialogue heavy, unconventional narratives of marginalized, working class people, filled with colorful vernacular. Sean interviewed him for his podcast 1storypod, but he also sent him a series of emails (where Sam claims), he basically admits to ripping off his style. In short, this is a classic case of where the line between influence and plagiarism is drawn and what to make of the capitalization of the “underground.” If you’re curious to learn more, or just enjoy gossipy hate blogging, I’ll link Sam’s post: FUCK, BOY! here.
All that being said, I finally got around to reading this book through my Libby app (side note- is everyone aware of Libby? It’s a fantastic app which allows you to check out ebooks from the library and read them on your mobile device, computer, or kindle for free!). If I had to rate it, I’d give it a 3.5/5 because I enjoyed the overall storyline and the themes explored, but the form and protagonist's way of speaking is incredibly distracting, and often annoying. I won’t be the first or last to point out that a white man (albeit half) using a blaccent gets old really quickly, but I will say I don’t think Sean uses this as a crutch for a lack of skill. There were many beautiful instances when fuccboi Sean recalls his childhood or explores philosophical or literary interests where the tone switches, and the language becomes quite poetic. Instead, I think the slang intends to add nuance to novel Sean, who has ‘lofty’ pursuits of being a writer and an artist, but also lives a degenerate lifestyle railing drugs and sleeping all day. Ultimately, for me this choice fails, instead serving to reinforce the binary he’s seemingly trying to reject, making author Sean sound like the poseur Sam paints him out to be.
The story is fairly conventional: a nonlinear account of a young man who is lost in the world. He’s graduated University with nothing to prove and has cycled through a bunch of career/identities: cross-country walker, weed farmer, sound cloud rapper, and most recently Postmates delivery boy. Now he finds himself back in his college town working on a book he’s hoping an ex will help him publish. This brings me to another motif: the slew of ex-lovers he confusingly refers to as ___bae (another instance where the diction detracts from the integrity of the story), hence the term “fuccboi.”
While book Sean is prone to intermittent semi-sexist outbursts, he’s not the worst guy- and he’s not that different from the rest of the pack. His real issue is his lack of motivation and commitment, which plagues his failed careers, relationships, and later his struggle to overcome a debilitating skin condition, which lends him some sympathy, until he starts referring to his dermatologist as “derm bae.” The book advertises itself as an “examination of masculinity under late capitalism,” which I think is accurate in the sense that Sean’s understanding of his masculinity seems to come from how he interprets the way women see him instead of an interrogation of his own actions. He doesn’t want to be seen as a fuccboi, but not enough to not act like one. A friend snaps at him,"“And all this ‘fuckboy’ self-awareness? When does that become reveling in it. Become self-fulfilling.”
Keen an eye out for a mid-week update of shorter book blurbs and some music recs. If you’ve read Fuccboi, Sam Pink, or have something to add, leave a comment below!