“Every generation must describe for itself what it means to be a young writer or artist struggling with anonymity and a mountain of rejection slips in a city like New York. Richard Perez’s THE LOSERS’ CLUB tracks the poet Martin Sierra’s melancholy and yet somehow humorous and hopeful life with an acid, yet not unsympathetic, pen. Perez has written a sharp, quick-paced satire of the personal ads subculture and the generally doomed semi-relationships it leads to, the bizarre and manic club life, where slam-dancing and other dangerous sports fail to mask the chronic – one might say terminal – loneliness of the participants. I especially like how the kaleidoscopic whirl of people and objects energizes the author and delights the reader with an almost photographic sense of time and place.”
—Robert Siegel, author: Best-selling author of THE WHALESONG TRILOGY


"Richard Perez’s THE LOSERS’ CLUB moves fast without blurring, and documents New York City in all its self-invented variety: kitsch/retro bars and cafes, goth vampires, dyke rock bands, desperately clever personal ads, the endless cruise for a parking space, and loneliness so relentless its victims wind up feeling stillborn. In its quicksilver way, Perez’s novel manages to be cheerful, bleak, and edgy all at once."
—John Vernon, author: A BOOK OF REASONS, PETER DOYLE

Set in downtown New York City, THE LOSERS’ CLUB tells the story of Martin Sierra, an unlucky writer addicted to the personals. His journey brings us into the East Village, pre-9/11—and in contact with Nikki, his dream woman, who remains unattainable romantically yet becomes his friend and confidant during his illuminating misadventures. A romantic comedy and coming-of-age story.



More Author's Opinions:

"I was hooked. I couldn’t put it down until I finished.... I was simply impressed that these were real, instantly recognizable people ... poor lonely bastards of every stripe resorting to utter humiliation and personal endangerment in the barest hope of hooking up with a kindred spirit. It’s a brave book with a great deal of heart."
—Poppy Z. Brite, author: LOST SOULS, LIQUOR: A NOVEL

"A story of youth, very well told, and it dwells in the mind long after a reader finishes it."
—Joanne Greenberg, author: I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN

"A very beautiful valentine to a time and place almost faded from existence."
—Mary Gaitskill, author: BAD BEHAVIOR, VERONICA

"Funny and endearing—and wisely not so hip as to avoid a good grab for your heart."
—Marcie Hershman, author: SAFE IN AMERICA, TALES OF THE MASTER RACE

"Richard Perez is a clear-eyed chronicler of the New York club scene and a compassionate observer of the lives lived in the carnival at the center of the world. He is a sociologist and a historian, telling the truth about the way we live now. He’s funny, honest, and compassionate. We can only hope that THE LOSERS’ CLUB is but the first act in Richard Perez’s Human Comedy."
—John Dufresne, author: LOUISIANA POWER & LIGHT, LOVE WARPS THE MIND A LITTLE

"THE LOSERS’ CLUB evokes a real and genuine sense of place—the world of the East Village—and people—single, young and desperate—written with zest, energy and enthusiasm."
—Tama Janowitz, author: SLAVES OF NEW YORK

"Funny, touching, and very much alive, THE LOSERS’ CLUB throbs with the subculture of East Village night life. Buoyant and highly entertaining—I couldn’t put it down."
—Stanley Cohen, author: ANGEL FACE

"THE LOSERS’ CLUB gives a complete panoramic view of the downtown New York scene of the '90s, and along with all its flamboyant extremes... this novel has an appealingly old fashioned love story at its core."
—Madison Smartt Bell, author: ALL SOULS' RISING, TEN INDIANS

"A fast, fun read."
—Richard Rhodes, author: A HOLE IN THE WORLD, THE MAKING OF THE ATOM BOMB, Pulitzer Prize Winner

"Rich Perez is a rare writer who moves with ease through the blasted lyric pain of childhood, the mysterious and sensuous and powerless world of being a kid, into the spotty drastic charm of ‘90s downtown flashy and downtrodden New York…having arrived at adulthood so that he can taste it with pleasure..."
—Eileen Myles, author: CHELSEA GIRLS, COOL FOR YOU

"Mr. Perez has written a kind of contemporary fable of his generation’s life in Manhattan, a fable at once humorous and poignant."
—Alan Lelchuk, author: BROOKLYN BOY, AMERCIAN MISCHIEF

"THE LOSERS’ CLUB is a fine novel. Richard Perez has a wonderful eye for details of the club scene and the humor to be found in urban decay. It is a book to be savored."
—Tim Sandlin, Sorrow Floats, Social Blunders

"Richard Perez’s THE LOSERS’ CLUB is a bittersweet trip through the East Village.... It’s a tale of love lost and found among the coffee shops, mosh pits and art galleries. Take it from someone who’s spent half a lifetime archiving the scene—this one’s spot on!"
—Ron Kolm, poet, author, member of the Unbearables

"THE LOSERS’ CLUB is a vibrant and hopeful anthem for all of us 'losers' who choose not to wallow (for too long!) in our despair and who find the will to keep searching."
—Heather Lowcock, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington KY*

*— BOOK SENSE 76 TOP TEN PICK! —*