"One of 2012's most enjoyable novels." --Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times "This is a dark, sharp, very funny novel about imprisonment, torture and the dangerous pleasures of stories." --Zoe Heller, Notes on a Scandal "Seth Kaufman's novel is a hoot and a boot, a zany, unsettling, satisfying, post post-modern, tragic-comic tour of prisons around the world and pain in the human heart. Start it and you won't stop. If you're a claustrophobe, read it out-of-doors." --John Darnton, Neaderthal  A riotously funny portrait of an out-of-control entertainment mogul and a devastating look at torture and imprisonment, The King of Pain is part Jennifer Egan, part Italo Calvino, part "Entourage," and 100% marvelous.  Rick Salter expects to be hated; after all, he’s the mind behind the outrageous—and outrageously successful—reality TV show about torture, “The King of Pain.” What he finds much more worrisome than the ire of cultural critics is that when he wakes up one Saturday morning, he’s trapped underneath his gigantic home entertainment system with no idea how he got there. Rick has 48 long hours ahead of him until his housekeeper will come to his rescue and nothing to pass the time except pain, bad memories—and a strange book he finds lying beside him. Called “A History of Prisons,” it is written by one Seth Kaufman, and it seems mysteriously relevant to Rick’s predicament…

The King of Pain: A Novel with Stories

Literature & Fiction

Kaufman, Seth

Humor & Satire

Sukuma Books

The Most Hilarious Man in Hollywood Is Unarmed and Dangerous!“A smart, witty and engrossing satire! Kaufman is a wonderfully sharp-eyed observer of modern American lunacies." —Zoe Heller, Notes on a Scandal
"Literary gold!" The year’s best new reality show concept is actually a book... It's as hilarious as it sounds!"—RadarOnLine.com"Rick is a charismatic antihero bolstered by credible side characters, and in the midst of Kaufman’s sardonic humor, there rings out an earnest outcry for gun reform." — Publishers Weekly Out-of-control producer Rick Salter wants to leave reality TV behind, get married and make movies. But it’s not easy. When a senseless murder touches his life, Rick knows exactly what to do — enlist his pal Sister Rosemarie to make a TV series called Nuns with Guns, about four nuns competing to collect the most firearms. Protests and death threats pile up as the sisters travel the country running gun exchanges. Propelled by the show’s spirited stars and crazy stunts — and the shadow of death that looms over every episode — the series becomes a smash hit. As Rick pushes the envelope, trying to save America from itself, a question emerges: Who will save Rick? 
Laugh-out-loud funny, Nuns with Guns is sure to appeal to fans of Carl Hiaasen and Kurt Vonnegut. Seth Kaufman explores deadly national issues by deftly balancing satire with anxiety and insight. The result is a riotous and disturbing must-read!"Kaufman has done the impossible: he's turned a foul-mouthed, PR-savvy, manipulative, selfish, and occasionally self-righteous reality show producer into a heroic figure. Highly, highly recommended."—Chicago Center for Literature and Photography"A hilarious, moving sequel...one of the most relevant, timely novels you'll read this year."--Downtown Magazine"Kaufman's humor and scope in Nuns with Guns is more vibrant than the pure satire of The King of Pain. He's not making fun of America here so much as trying to improve it."--Tom Rayfiel, In Pinelight

Nuns with Guns

Literary

"Great fun!"—Ben Schott, author of Schott’s Original Miscellany "Sharp satire with a poetic heart"—The B&N Review "Seth Kaufman's War Against Boredom is a great antidote to this Kardashianized landscape of selfie-sticks, ISIS attacks, and billionaire presidential wannabes. With lacerating satire, these short stories, riffs, and other insanities will make you laugh. Only our hashtags and Instagram pics can save us now." -- Karl Wolff, The Driftless Area Review The War Against Boredom, by newyorker.com humor contributor Seth Kaufman, is a hilarious and wildly inventive assault on the mind-numbing effects of the modern world. Reverse-engineering obsessions with Big Data, the Internet, movies, coffee shops, pot, spying, rock stars, relationships and sex scandals, Kaufman morphs reality into comedy with 21 short stories and satirical columns. It's a must-read for fans of the author's acclaimed novel The King of Pain and anyone who likes adventurous humor writing. Notable skirmishes in The War Against Boredom: • A husband hires a business consultant to help improve his marriage. • An assistant engineer recalls working with Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and a llama. • An insurance actuary becomes a star by decoding the odds for the Academy Awards. • A caustic National Security Administration advice columnist answers questions and exposes employees. • Cheech and Chong reunite over a golden hookah. • A hardcore techie conducts a bizarre old school search for love in “Segway in Overdrive.”

The War Against Boredom: Short Stores, Riffs, Insanities

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

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