对《喜剧之王》的赞美
“这部小说对情感生存、孤独、人际关系的美与局限进行了富有想象力的思考，让人瞠目结舌。我喜欢理查德的故事。”——梅丽莎•布罗德，《双鱼座》的作者
“这是一部多么有趣而独特的杰作啊！亦苦亦甜！从字面上的魔法到赛车情节，在这个世界上，没有人能写出像理查德这样的作品。读了这篇文章，我觉得自己受益匪浅。每一页都会带来惊喜。”——艾丽莎•那纳丁，《为爱而生》的作者
It’s PUB WEEK for Richard Chiem’s KING OF JOY and the applause is loud:
- Seattle Review of Books wonderful review (I love Paul Constant’s comparison of Richard’s writing to Spike Lee’s dolly shots): “[Chiem’s] fiction uses passiveness to great effect, employs it as a way to examine the world. . . . You might think that a 200-page novel about a young woman who is all but emotionally dead might be boring, or aimless, or as empty as its protagonist. You would be underestimating Chiem’s considerable talents. There’s an energy seething behind the words in King of Joy, an outrage and a demand for justice, that drives the story onward. . . . It goes to some delightfully weird places."
-Vol. 1 Brooklyn included it in their March books preview: "Richard Chiem has followed up his collection You Private Person with a novel centered around a young woman for whom pop culture serves as a literal means of escape from the stresses of the world around her. Chiem’s novel explores our relationship to film and music even as it posits an intriguing take on grief and trauma."
-Dennis Cooper did a celebratory King of Joy post on his blog! "He’s one of my favorite younger writers. I’m kind of in awe of his prose, which has so many seemingly at odd qualities, from utter precision to deep mysteriousness, happening concurrently that his writing, or its effect, can seem almost 3-dimensional a lot of the time." —Dennis Cooper
- Paperback Paris featured it as one of the best debuts of March (which is lovely even if King of Joy isn’t Richard’s debut): "All it took was two chapters before I found myself helplessly bound to Corvus’ rebounding depression, as such angst does not resist the urge to leap from Chiem’s poetic prose and enter the mind of its unwitting victim. I was no exception, and once you’ve taken the deep dive into King of Joy, just know you have a tribe of admirers waiting to talk you through whatever you’re feeling." —Paperback Paris
- Seattle Met: "There are overtones of David Lynch and Denis Johnson. . . . Chiem excels at fine, metaphorical finesse." —Stefan Milne, Seattle Met
- The Seattle Times featured his book launch as one of the hottest events of the month
- Nylon included it as a great book to read this month
- The Stranger ran a nice piece
KLEINWORKS Agency
Update March 27, 2019
•NYLON included it as a great book to read this month
•The Seattle Times interviewed Richard
•Real Clear Life interviewed Richard
•Shelf Awareness gave it a great review, calling it "...an exceptionally lucid work for Chiem... sure to leave an impression on readers."
•NYLON interviewed Richard
•Seattle Review of Books gave it a great review
•Vol. 1 Brooklyn included it in their March books preview