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Michael Snyder tackles postmodernism
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Michael Snyder's Return Policy is a Christian novel
with an interesting taste of postmodernism.
Postmodern Christian art seems like a contradiction of terms. Postmodernists, with their cynical humor and disregard for truth, aren’t too popular in Christian circles. But Michael Snyder, author of recently-released Return Policy, is doing an admirable job of bridging that gap.
Snyder’s biting comedies are often madcap and ridiculous, but they have that sheen of artiness that critics can’t get enough of. His new book has many elements reminiscient of the century’s best authors, elements that make it unique and innovative. The story unfolds from three first person narrators, similar to William Faulker’s The Sound and the Fury. His central focus, Willy Finneran, is the very archetype of the Henry James unreliable narrator; what the book says can rarely be trusted. All three narrators bump into each other in the most mundane ways, setting up intersecting plotlines, evocative of any web-of-life film of the 1980s. And all three characters struggle with vacillating nihilism and hope. Alcoholism. Depression. It is these elements that make critics take such strong interest in his books.
It is his humor that makes readers take notice. Willy Finneran wants his espresso maker dead. Though it reminds of him of his dead wife and he does everything he can to kill it, it won’t die. It is with ridiculous situations like this one, told in the most straightforward fashion, that make his writing so funny. It is similar to Koontz’s Odd Thomas (“Elvis stood in my room. Though dead, he still likes to visit often.”) or David Foster Wallace’s narrative style: deadpan delivery makes the narrator come off as likeable and hilarious. “Once a year, my senile aunt tries to kill me,” the book begins, an opening as eye-catching as Wallace’s “I am sitting down, surrounded by heads and bodies.”
Snyder's unique humor permeates everything Snyder writes. His blog recently had an entry titled “Extremely Odd and Incredibly Weird Return Policy,” which requested that readers who didn’t like his first book return it to the author for another novel (not written by him), provided they told him why they didn’t like it (the nastier the better). “If I get enough returned copies, I will then post the best negative responses to my (brilliant) first novel and let the readers vote on who makes the most compelling argument for me being a total hack. So what are you waiting for? Go (buy and) read a copy today!”
As nihilistic and depressed as Snyder’s characters are, through this ironic delivery they become instantly likeable. The reader comes to enjoy laughing with them at life’s misfortunes, and comes to be deeply invested in their struggle for hope and answers. And it is this struggle that makes his books more than just a fun read. The characters’ growth really can be compelling.
His humor also makes interesting statements about life. His deadpan delivery often makes the most mundane situations (like family relationships) seem ridiculous. By making the ordinary absurd, Snyder throws ordinary life into a new light. Some of the best modern and postmodern authors (like Koontz and Wallace) have mastered this art, and Snyder is well on his way.
For his new book, there is perhaps no better way to sum up its curious Christian/postmodern blend than the Publisher’s Weekly review of Snyder's first novel, My Name is Russell Fink, “it may be a bit too edgy and complex for the Christian chick lit crowd. . . . [but it is] unique and fun.” With one caveat: Christian readers may be more complex than Publisher’s Weekly thinks.
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