@UGMan
Mark Sarvas
$18.00 | ISBN: 979-8-9882829-8-3 | Jun. 2025
Paperback | 5.5x8.5” | 236pp
Distributed via Ingram
NPR praises @UGMan as a trailblazing story
Book launch event featured in Jerk of All Trades Magazine
Author interview in the OC Register
#DIGITALWASTELAND
Tap into the tumultuous world of Mark Sarvas’ third novel, @UGMan, where disillusioned protagonist UGMan wastes his days spewing on pre-Musk Twitter. Readers will be drawn in by UGMan’s unsettling monologue, which skillfully weaves together references to history, pop culture, poetry, Dostoevsky, and UGMan’s lifelong obsession with the Beatles. But don’t be fooled by his online persona. Beneath the surface lies a sensitive man consumed by social media’s alienation and the world’s brokenness.
Mark Sarvas, acclaimed author of Harry, Revised and Memento Park, delivers an urgent narrative that puts a necessary spotlight on the psychological damage of social media.
@UGMan is a tour de force exploration of obsession, disillusionment, and the dark humor that accompanies them. Prepare to be riveted, shocked, and ultimately moved by this unforgettable tale of a man lost—perhaps forever—in the digital age.
ADDITIONAL BUYING OPTIONS:
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PRAISE FOR @UGMAN:
“Recalls the captivating obsessives created by the late great Thomas Bernhard.” —NPR
“A chilling, flawlessly executed, and emotionally taxing portrayal of a broken psyche.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Dad’s car, guns, foreplay and guitars are only some of the modernist flammables and delights that entice throughout @UGman. The real power here is Sarvas’s language and his ear for the brutalist logic that governs a life lived on the Socials. You’ll recognize @UGman as someone you know and might even love or follow. Perhaps, you, too, are @UGman.” —ANTHONY SWOFFORD, author of Jarhead
“It would be wrong to call this a Beatle novel, — it’s more an investigation of the urge to both isolate and lash out — but the Beatles are indeed here, and Mark Sarvas deploys them in subtle, surprising ways as he takes us through the dark, spiraling thoughts of a man aggressively fumbling through each day. @UGman is brisk and lacerating, with important insights regarding an affliction now common to us all.” —JASON KRUPPA, music historian, creator of the podcast Producing the Beatles
“Vitriol and hope make for a compelling cocktail in Mark Sarvas’ scathing, hilarious, addictive homage to the Underground Man in a Twitter world. UGMan lays bare the life-poisoning vendettas, fervid imaginings, and unhinged tweets of a man who believes he’s lost everything he loves. But as he forces himself outside WiFi range and into reluctant contact with humanity, UGMan finds that the sublime continues to exist for him, right alongside the asinine.” —MAUD NEWTON, author of Ancestor Trouble
PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR’S WORK:
“Gorgeous... “ —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“A wonderfully original writer... “ —THE TIMES (UK)
“Sarvas’s prose seems effortless... " —CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"Blisteringly funny... poignant... “ —THE GUARDIAN
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MARK SARVAS is the award-winning author of Memento Park and Harry, Revised, with Memento Park garnering multiple accolades including a 2019 American Book Award and being shortlisted for several other prestigious awards. His debut novel Harry, Revised was published internationally to critical acclaim, drawing comparisons to Updike and Roth. A prolific literary critic whose work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Threepenny Review, and numerous other publications, Sarvas began his career hosting the acclaimed literary blog “The Elegant Variation.” He’s a member of multiple literary organizations, has judged several notable literary prizes, and currently teaches advanced novel writing at UCLA Extension while holding an MFA from Bennington College. He lives on the Monterey Peninsula.