Like those of another of my favorite authors (Jonathan Lethem), Arthus Nersesian's most memorable books (e.g., Unlubricated, Chinese Takeout) are often set in NYC, exploring the unique mind set and often bizarre behavior of ordinary people squeezed into that small space. Mesopotamia is a departure - the setting is the Tennessee town of Mesopotamia, half way between Nashville and Memphis. The story is a satirical murder mystery set in the sub-culture of Elvis impersonators and down-and-out rural folks, some living in trailer parks. As stereotyped as this might sound, it's all rather tongue-in-cheek. The protagonist, playing the role of private investigator, is the very un-stereotyped tabloid journalist Cassandra Bloomgarten - a Korean adoptee by a middle-class Jewish family living in Mesopotamia, Tennessee, who is on a downward spiral due to a failing marriage, inability to conceive a child, and has a severe drinking problem. Cassandra comes down from NYC (where her dumpster-fire life is being played out) to pursue a story for her tabloid employer in a nearby town, but quickly becomes emmeshed in a complicated story involving the murder of two Elvis impersonators, an extortion scheme and a possible answer to the age-old tabloid-fueled question..."Is Elvis really dead?". It's a fun and rather unpredictable read.
For a review of the book by Publishers Weekly, click here:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781936070084
