The Made-Up Man: A Novel by Joseph Scapellato - Review

by Rana Asfour

Joseph Scapellato’s new novel, 'The Made-Up Man' released by Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, is a conversation on finding one’s identity in today’s vast pool of choices. It is also a novel on art - ‘art that engages, and art that estranges. And art that engages-estranges’ - and how they play in our perception of who we are and how we are represented in the different art mediums.

Scapellato creates a main character, Stanley, that one irresistibly roots for despite his flawed, self-deprecating, paranoid persona. As Stanley shares his absurdist views about the world he lives in and those who live it with him, the novel makes for insightful musings & world truths. Some more uncomfortable than others.

Mixing the melancholy with the absurd in an experimental writing style, this is a book I’d highly recommend for those wanting to step out of their comfort zone to try something new. Or just buy it for that gorgeous cover.