Michael Petracca

When UCLA grad student Harmon Nails III inherits a first edition of William Combe's satirical poem "Doctor Syntax," illustrated by Thomas Rowlandson, his first thought is to have it valued. Unfortunately, at his valuation appointment, a gang of thieves steals the book along with some notes for his dissertation that were tucked inside the valuable volume. Harmon decides that his academic future rides on getting the book back and goes in pursuit.

The book is a strange one. It's a classic noir structure set in late 1970s LA, but instead of a hard-boiled detective we get a nebbishy, allergic grad student with an overbearing Jewish mother as our protagonist. Interspersed with the action are set pieces to do with poker, our hero's sexual history, and surfing. There are footnotes (not too many). There is a lot of humor related to universities/academics, and a general tone of sarcasm pervades the book. Take Raymond Chandler and mix it up in a blender with some Thomas Pynchon, David Lodge, Woody Allen, and Laurence Sterne and you will have "Doctor Syntax." I suspect this is pretty much exactly the blend of things that Petracca was going for. If so, well done, sir.

I really enjoyed this book. It does feel a little outdated in 2015, which may be why so few people on this site have it in their libraries. It clearly didn't make much of a splash even when first published, and I think it takes a certain kind of sensibility to enjoy it today. Many of its elements (pastiche, footnotes, commentary on the artifice of authorship, "the old illusion-reality problem," a kind of in-your-face sarcastic humor) seem kind of stale. But all that can be seen now, over 25 years later, as a kind of period voice, and if you're willing to read it that way, it's quite enjoyable.

I bought this used based on the cover and description without knowing anything about it. I guess Petracca only wrote one more novel after this, which is too bad. But there is this: this guy has some phenomenal reviews at ratemyprofessor.com. Given the nasty things Harmon Nails III had to say about the "Anguish Department," it's heartening that his creator was still able to wring meaning from the project of higher education and obviously touched some students' lives in really important ways. Weirdly, in retrospect this makes me like the novel even more.… (meer)