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Dreaming of Gwen Stefani

Dreaming of Gwen Stefani
By Evan Mandery

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Product Description

Dreaming of Gwen Stefani is a quirky and compelling riff on the nature of romantic obsession, celebrity worship, free will versus determinism and the Joys of Papaya King Hot dogs.--Jay McInerney

Mortimer Taylor Coleridge is a unique man. With a mind of rare mathematical precision, he is obsessed with imposing order upon the chaos of every day life. A once brilliant student of evolutionary biology at Columbia University, he has turned his back on a promising academic career to devote his life to selling hot dogs at Papaya Queen. And Mortimer has used his keen intellect to become the quickest and most efficient of hot dog men, devising a numerical-based system to sell hot dogs which maximizes both time and effort.

One day while watching TV, Mortimer comes upon VH1, and his life is instantly transformed. While watching Behind the Music: No Doubt , he decides that he and Gwen Stefani are soul mates, destined to be together. When Mortimer discovers that her favorite food is a Papaya Queen hot dog, he dedicates his life to preparing for the day, which he knows will come, when Gwen Stefani will walk into the Papaya Queen where he works, order a frankfurter and fall in love with him.

In the comic tradition of writers such as Carl Hiaasen and Lydia Millet, Dreaming of Gwen Stefani takes our culture’s obsession with celebrity to its logical—or illogical—conclusion.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #773907 in Books
  • Published on: 2007-02-01
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: .45" h x 5.60" w x 7.94" l, .49 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 192 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Mortimer Taylor Coleridge used to study evolutionary biology at Columbia. Now he is a dedicated employee of Papaya Queen hot dogs. Master of the bun flip and speedy with the condiments, Coleridge feels he has elevated his job to an art form. Then he stumbles on the episode of TV's Behind the Music featuring Gwen Stefani, and his life is never the same. He buys No Doubt's entire catalog of CDs, jettisons his longtime girlfriend, and undertakes a strenuous fitness regime. He is preparing himself for the day when the glamorous star, who has declared hot dogs as her favorite food, will come strolling into his establishment. Mandery's offbeat debut novel contains a long history of the popularity of the hot dog as well as an in-depth and often absurd parsing of Stefani's lyrics. But Mandery's droll send-up of celebrity worship is more odd than effective since his deadpan reciting of every single detail of Stefani's life is not quite as humorous as he intends. Still, this may appeal to pop-culture junkies looking for a quick read. Joanne Wilkinson
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About the Author

Evan Mandery is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He has published two works of non-fiction including Eyes on City Hall (Westview Press), a comical chronicle of his experience working on a doomed mayoral campaign. Dreaming of Gwen Stefani is his first novel.