Deadpan

Deadpan is a funny novel about an unfunny subject–hate speech and bigotry–that takes readers on an extraordinary ride of unlimited imagination, providing gobs of entertainment and delivering a comedic body blow to prejudice.

Deadpan follows the misadventures of a vaguely antisemitic West Virginia Buick dealer who wakes up one day transformed into the world’s most popular Jewish comedian and compelled to perform stand-up routines. Steeped in magical realism, the narrative confronts the incandescent issues of our day: Identity, intolerance, tribalism and the redemptive force of humor. The novel’s unfettered comical sensibility is a vivid testament to Mark Twain’s dictum “against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” Set during the world-wide oil crises of the 1970s, the narrative alternates between locations in West Virginia, Las Vegas, Washington, Tehran, and Sinai, featuring characters as diverse as Sarah Palin, Mel Brooks, and the Shah of Iran. Walter’s phantasmagorical tour-de-force is not only a satirical takedown of antisemitism (and bigotry in general) but also a dazzling celebration of human dignity, resilience, and humor.