Paradise (Contemporary American Fiction)

Paradise (Contemporary American Fiction) by Barthelme, Donald. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780140103588.

"No other word for it: a charming book."â Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek Simon, a middle-aged architect separated from his wife, is given the chance to live out a stereotypical male fantasy: freed from the travails of married life, he ends up living with three nubile lingerie models who use him as a sexual object. Set in the 1980s, theres a further tension between Simons desire to exploit this stereotypical fantasy and his (as well as the authors) desire to treat the women as human beings, despite the womens claims that Simon cant distinguish between their personalities. Employing a variety of forms, Barthelme gracefully plays with this setup, creating a story thats not just funnyâ although its definitely thatâ but actually quite melancholy, as Simon knows that the womens departure is inevitable, that this "paradise" will come to an end, and that hell be left with only an empty house, booze, and regrets about chances not taken.