Small Beer Press, 2008
When a freak flood forces Thom, Eric, and Tree from their apartment, they find themselves carrying an ungainly orange couch through the streets of Portland, Oregon. Attempts to rid themselves of the monstrosity fail, and in the process they learn that their burden has magical properties. Thus, the trio's adventure in furniture disposal turns quickly into a quest, the destination of which appears to be up to the couch itself. So begins Benjamin Parzybok's aptly and succinctly titled debut novel, Couch.
When a freak flood forces Thom, Eric, and Tree from their apartment, they find themselves carrying an ungainly orange couch through the streets of Portland, Oregon. Attempts to rid themselves of the monstrosity fail, and in the process they learn that their burden has magical properties. Thus, the trio's adventure in furniture disposal turns quickly into a quest, the destination of which appears to be up to the couch itself. So begins Benjamin Parzybok's aptly and succinctly titled debut novel, Couch.
Couch is a fanciful concoction with obvious Tolkien-esque base, a motley assortment of characters thrown together for the purpose of carrying a magical item to a far-flung place. However, with its 21st century slacker protagonists and a conspicuous lack of dwarves and elves, Parzybok's tale doesn't warrant a "fantasy" tag so much as it does comparisons to the magical realism one finds in the novels of Haruki Murakami. A healthy dose of humor suggests a Tom Robbins influence given Parzybok's Washingtonian childhood.
Couch's protagonists are a likable bunch. Thom, a socially awkward yet brilliant and harmlessly deviant computer programmer, is famous in geek circles for having hacked a well-known Seattle-based computer software company; Eric is a less benign though arguably well-intentioned con artist with an eye for the ladies and an unusually rapid propensity for hair growth; and Tree (yes, Tree) is a commune-bred, reticent clairvoynt whose dreams have an eery way of becoming reality.
In a novel whose action is driven primarily by a magic couch, subtlety is not a primary concern and readers will overlook devices of plot that are sometimes as convenient and clunky as the aforementioned upholstered living room fixture. Literary and historical allusions sprinkled throughout make the novel something of a treasure hunt, and a bit of bathrobe philosophizing in parts will make you go "hm." Couch is a quick and funny read, a short fable that ensnares us in its quixotic intentions and encourages us to believe for a short time in something magic, even if it is just a couch.
