Attention. Deficit. Disorder.

by Brad Listi

People fell in love every day, all over the world, and I didn't know how to do it. I didn't understand what it meant, and I didn't know how it was done.

This worried me.

Days after his ex-girlfriend's suicide, Wayne, a recent film school grad, flies to San Francisco for her funeral. When he learns that she aborted their child, Wayne embarks on a search for meaning that takes him to unusual places and through some of the most influential events of the past ten years.

Wayne's journey becomes a series of meditations on modern life, and he draws on everything from the ancient philosophy of Siddhartha Gautama, the warrior-aristocrat who exacted the Four Noble Truths, to a visit with Gregorio Fuentes, Hemingway's fishing guide and inspiration for the protagonist in The Old Man and the Sea.

Haunted by regret and wonder about what could have been, Wayne's quest for connection leads him up and down the East Coast on foot and across the American West in an RV, and finally to the Costco Soulmate Trading Outpost in the middle of the Black Rock Desert. Listi weaves innovative flashes of nonfiction throughout the story -- lists, quotations, and strange facts -- and creates a deeply emotional exploration of love, death, escape, and maturation.

Highly original and effortlessly readable, Attention. Deficit. Disorder. exhibits an unforgettable voice that is Listi's alone.

Genres: Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2006

About the author

Brad Listi is the author of the novel Be Brief and Tell Them Everything (Ig Publishing / May 2022). His other books include the novel Attention. Deficit. Disorder., an LA Times bestseller, and Board, a work of nonfiction collage, co-authored with Justin Benton. He is the founding editor of The Nervous Breakdown, an online literary magazine, and in 2011 he launched the Otherppl podcast, which features in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I had put off reading this book because of the decidedly mixed reviews it had received. I wish I hadn't waited. I just tore through this book in a few hours' time, and when I reached the end, it left me with that weird teary feeling that comes on when I really connect with a story.

The narrator of this book, Wayne, finds out that his ex-girlfriend has committed suicide. Over the course of the book, every decision he makes, each path he carves out is somehow colored by the horrible news he has received.

This is, in some sense, a road novel combined with A. J. Jacob's The Know-It-All, which, coincidentally, I just finished reading a couple of weeks ago. Wayne's narrative is populated with definitions of words and the history of places, inventions and ideas. It is not clear as you read that these devices are directly tied to the narrative. I understand that some readers become impatient with this. I think perhaps The Know-It-All conditioned me for this -- but for whatever reason, it worked for me.

By the end, I understood exactly what why these passages and digressions were there, and when I soaked up the last word of the last page, I experienced a moment of clarity about the narrator and his trajectory that startled me.

This review may sound fairly vague, but I'd hate to get more specific about the "message" of this book and color your own interpretation or ruin your own experience reading it. I am guessing that this is the kind of book that will mean different things to different people, and resonate with their own life experiences in different ways.

I recommend it to all, especially those who feel they can adapt to a somewhat experimental narrative form. I also wonder if this book will resonate more with men than women, but being a guy myself, I can't tell you that!

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Attention Deficit Disorder" is the story of Wayne, a young man who is far from figuring out what his life's "trajectory" involves. Two weeks after learning of his ex-girlfriend, Amanda's, suicide, Wayne is on a plane headed for the funeral. Next Wayne learns that while he was dating Amanda, she aborted their child. Wayne then realizes that the meaning of life has him utterly confounded. As you may expect, the remainder of the story is devoted to him, and his trying to find meaning in a world that appears so meaningless. We follow Wayne through rejection, drugs, festivals, a hike along the Appalachian trail, hangovers, friendships, soulmates, and ultimately a new found sense of peace with the world.

Listi has created a story with a character that is readily identified with. There were times throughout the story that I did get a little bored; I found myself thinking things along the lines of "yeah, I get it, he doesn't understand why." I'd turn the page though, and the author would have thrown something into the plot that regained my full attention, and I'd be hooked and enjoying the story again.

Not destined to be on my list of favorite books of all time, but definitely one I'd pass along, or recommend to others to read. Give it a go.

[Jennifer Spiegel]

I've had this book for a while. Brad Listi kindly put me on his podcast when I published my first book, LOVE SLAVE. God knows what I say on here:

https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/ot...

So I finally read his book. I WILL read his new one.

I did devour it. It was enjoyable, and I loved parts. It's COMPLETELY Gen X's ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac. So Gen X that, if you're Gen X, you will feel every moment of every moment in this book. It's a road trip book, hitting up such fun places as the old man in Cuba from Hemingway's THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, the Appalachian Trail (something I've ALWAYS wanted to do but never will), NYC (did it), LA (well, I've been there and, um, I lived there for maybe two months in college but it barely counts), and Burning Man (Pipe Dream, though I totally know I'd hate every second of it).

My very favorite scene is definitely the one in which the protagonist takes his mentally challenged uncle in some kind of cavern/cave/road trip attraction--and his uncle, who is in his care, has a panic attack. The protagonist doesn't want his parents to find out what he put his uncle through . . .
The thing I liked about it is that it's SWEET. I don't know. There was something refreshing about it. The Gen X kid didn't want to hurt his uncle. The uncle isn't some kind of scary guy. The parents genuinely love the uncle. For some reason, it seemed NICER than a potentially deranged Gen Z saga.

(I'm a little anti-Gen Z these days.)

I felt some sorrow in the end. Gen X maybe doesn't age so well.

You know that last night Eddie Vedder took his kids to see Taylor Swift, and he looked so dad, and I'm right there with him too.

[Stephanie Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to say something smart about this novel because this is a smart novel. It deals with my favorite topics: grief and the unrelenting quest to understand one's existence.

The best moments in the book are when the narrator (Wayne Fencer) steps away from himself. Pamela the 16-year-old hooker in Cuba and Henry the guy who meets his birth mother for the first time are amazing moments of human survival. I laughed; I cried; I reread entire sections because I didn't want to miss anything.

The solid gold moments in the book are when the narrator closes in on himself. Wayne Fencer knows grief. I've said this before, but I feel like grief is a corner. You're you and you're great but then there's grief and you're still you, but there's just something different, something darker. Maybe we don't all carry it in obvious ways and some of us cope better than others, but true loss (physical or emotional) changes a person. The change might be subtle, but it never goes away. Gone is gone. You wake up and face that goneness every single day regardless of how well things are going in your life or how happy you are.

So, yes. I loved this novel.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had sub-topics I am really interested in: the Appalachian Trail and Burning Man, for example. Unfortunately, it was poorly written, a string of lackluster simplistic sentences that I would be disappointed to find a high school student writing. And the device of adding dictionary definitions and encyclopedia-like entries, which seemed like a great idea at the beginning, wore thin from overuse and from including entries that added nothing but the writer's contempt for the reader. On the plus side, I learned some things about Burning Man.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twenty three year old Wayne Fencer narrates events of the last year (2000) following the news that his former girl friend Amanda committed suicide, a year in which he struggles to come to terms with the tragedy and his conscience. It is an ordeal made all the more difficult as he learns from Amada’s friends that she was pregnant by him. Wayne embarks on an odyssey that will occupy him for that next year which take him to Mexico, Cuba and a marathon trek along the Appalachians; somehow he hopes to find some answers.

This is well a written novel which follows an interesting format in which the narrative is frequently interspersed with factual snippets and relevant word definitions; a device which at times I felt interrupted the flow of the story unnecessarily. Sometimes the facts spill over into the narrative when real people or events are woven into the story.

However, I was left wondering for some time where this story was going, and if I had not consulted the blurb on the back cover would probably have been wondering even longer, for initially it seems to lack any positive direction. It was not a story which gripped me, and I think the frequent digressions into the realms of fact did not help. Wayne is a likeable enough character, caring and unassuming; but the whole story hangs on him, other characters do not play significant roles, or if they do they are only there briefly.

Film buffs may well enjoy it for the frequent references to the world of the cinema; Wayne is a graduate of The University of Colorado where he attended film school. However, while it proved to be a pleasant enough read it is not a book I would go out of my way for.

(pre-publication copy for review)

[Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This likely isn't a book you've heard of before but it is one that deserves much more acclaim. It is a refreshingly unique piece of fiction, written with wit, levity, and humility despite the intensity of the subject matter. Heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, it is a true meditation on life and the meaning of our existence as human beings.

Brad Listi compels us as readers to join Wayne Fencer as he travels across the US striving to find answers to questions we ultimately have to ask ourselves- why are we here? What is love? How do we figure out what we truly want out of life? Are regrets valid? Philosophical in tone but never preachy, spliced with facts, lists, and quotations drawn from famous figures in history, and told in a way that is down-to-earth and relatable, Wayne's voice is a profound embodiment of our own internal conscience.

To say that I was moved by this read is an understatement. I absolutely loved it and the underlying message, so much that I purchased a copy that sits on my home bookshelf today. Yet while I felt it was a story of serious significance, it was a rather quick, easy, and amusing read, and one that I will return to again and again throughout my life. -Meg

[Ursula Pflug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attention. Deficit. Disorder.
by Brad Listi
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment; 1 edition (Jan 23 2007)
Price: $15.95
ISBN-10: 1416912363
ISBN-13: 978-1416912361

Review by Ursula Pflug

525 words

Brad Listi’s debut novel Attention. Deficit. Disorder is about the suicide of protagonist Wayne Fencer’s ex-girlfriend Amanda, and his subsequent journey as he deals with his grief, his guilt, and his attempt to regain some sense of meaning in his life.

The currently fashionable confessional style can be taken to extremes, yet the revelatory honesty of some young writers is admirable, and Listi is one of them. Jim Carroll, author of the wonderful memoir The Basketball Diaries, calls A.D.D. genuine, and it is.

As to adventures, there are many: Fencer hikes the Appalachian Trail, and goes to Cuba, where he meets Hemingway’s Old Man, from The Old Man and the Sea, as well as a young Havana prostitute who becomes his dance partner, translator and tour guide. He writes a screenplay and moves to L.A. to try, unsuccessfully, to sell it. He watches his college friends get married and settle down, a move which unsettles him, post trauma and alone as he is. He sky-dives.

He ends up at the infamous Burning Man Festival in the Nevada Desert, where he dances all night with his soul mate. Briefly, she helps him to forget Amanda, but not in the way you think.

However, unlike in the picaresque novels of say, Kerouac, in which do more, experience more, is the traveller’s MO, here it’s the opposite. Fencer’s travels always take a back seat to his need to understand.

Why?

The larger question of suicide begs answers even while it is so discomforting that most prefer to run away, and understandably so. But, impressively, Listi doesn’t. I could offer some startling statistics here, but will leave that to Mr. Listi, whose book is chock full of them.

The text describes thought processes, events and emotions, the weaving and mapping that takes place between them, but it also charts a wider course, interspersed as it is by quotations from the wise (and possibly unwise) of history, statistics, definitions and the like. Consequently, it reads as if written by a Google addict with, yes, A.D.D. and in fact, the only allusion I could find to the title is in the style. If books printed on paper could maximise and minimise, opening and closing windows at will, it would. An interactive text without the actual interactivity, it is a perfectly hewn example of how the internet is changing the way novels are written. This may appeal to some readers more than others.

And does Fencer reach an epiphany?

Well, yes. But he does it in such a sincere, nice guy kind of way that it almost slips our notice.

There’s a bit when he encounters a trail keeper on the Appalachian, mistaking him at first for a Deliverance style nutcase. But no, Ed is a volunteer, Fencer notes, “clearing the trail for people like me, moving rocks and hacking away slippery exposed roots with his hatchet, just to be nice.”

I don’t think Listi intended this to be a framing metaphor for his novel, but nonetheless it works as such. Fencer comes to the conclusion that all he can do is help others, unobtrusively volunteer to help keep the trail clear.



Ursula Pflug is author of the novel Green Music and the story collection After The Fires.

[Chason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty quick read. The title is fitting in that many of the chapters are extremely brief, most being under four pages.
The story is told from the point of view of Wayne Fencer, a recent film school graduate from Colorado who goes on a quest to find himself after an ex-girlfriend commits suicide. The unexpected suicide of his ex leaves him questioning his purpose and what life is really all about.
He goes on a journey that is physical, mental, and spiritual. In the space of a year he finds himself in Cuba, on the Appalachian Trail, in New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Reno, and finally in the middle of the desert with 25,000 other people who are similarly searching for what will fulfill them and what makes their lives worth living.
Listi is an excellent writer, painting a narrative that hooks you in and makes you feel like you're right there with Wayne. He intersperses definitions of words within the story that help to clarify how he's using a particular word and to emphasize that meaning. One would think that would be distracting, but as reader I found it added to the story. Listi also mixes in anecdotes and short tidbits of history and trivia that provide background and are truly entertaining and interesting in and of themselves.
It's a compelling story. I highly recommend it.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am giving Brad Listi's "Attention. Deficit. Disorder." a VERY high three stars. I really enjoyed the book a ton. It was super fun to read, and Listi writes with a unique voice that is very much his own...literally. If you ever listen to his Other People podcast (if you aren't listening to this, do so now, because you are missing out on great author interviews), you'll know what I mean. I felt like I was listening to him reading this book to me, instead of the voices of the characters inside my own head...which I enjoyed. The book was obviously very personal, as many of the stories Wayne goes through in the book, Listi has talked about happening to him on his podcast. This was a bit of a detractor for me, because while the stories are extremely interesting, I already heard him telling me about them happening to him, and then now I was reading the eerily similar stories happening to Wayne. Again, it was a fun book on self-discovery, and I will be looking forward for Listi's second novel to be published.

[Katharine Klevinskas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little worried this would be yet another in a never ending series of books about young people finding themselves ... well, I guess it was. But still reeling from Eat, Pray, Love and then having to read The Death of Morrie on Tuesdays (kidding) ... I began it with some trepidation.

Picked it up because of the title, I think. And the blurb on the cover about him hitting lots of cultural literacy marks.

I just liked it. I liked his use of language -- clever and witty and grammatically correct. His insights were witty and fresh and I like how the story evolved.

And it wasn't "girly" I liked that.

[nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

i've been keeping up with listi's blog for a few years now.

an avid fan of his every day blog.
an avid fan of his flawless novel.

i can easily say that this book does the title justice.

which is sometimes rare to find.

the style in which listi writes is unique and creative.

a very hard book to put down because of the
short chapters.

they just keep you going.

and going...

until you are done and completely satisfied.

i found this book to be about self-exploration.
this is also a read that no one could deny, it has
a little bit of everything in it.

i guarantee that if you read this book that you
will not be disappointed.

until next time
-nick

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title caught my eye, and without even reading the description, I purchased a copy of Listi’s novel. Sometimes risks like this pay off, and this reading experience was certainly one of them! I really enjoyed this quirky book - even though it was ultimately about nothing. I really loved Listi’s writing style and his sense of humour. The definitions and short chapters sped the pacing along, and made it actually quite difficult to put down. On a personal level, I especially loved the casual mention of Fragile X and that a minor character shared my name (even if it was spelled wrong!). I can’t wait to see what he writes next!

[Tonya Wertman · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book club, JUGS was fortunate enough to have Brad Listi as a guest speaker. What a real treat!

Listi's characters are throuroughly enjoyable and believable as they work through life's joys and problems. The short chapters, the brief definitions dispersed throughout the novel and the diversity of the narrator's stories all lend to the novel's title.

Check out Listi's Blog:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus...

and Web site: www.THENERVOUSBREAKDOWN.COM

http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/br... )

[Susan L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is deliciously fragmented and postmodern, but I'm not sure it accomplishes what it sets out to do. Some of the digressions are a little unnecessary and there should've been a much greater emotional impact at the end.

I definitely learned a lot interesting facts along the way, although I would say that sometimes it was hard to tell what exactly was fact and what was just part of the fictional story. Either way, I admire the effort.

Grade: B+

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Of course the future is uncertain, but you have to be willing to step forward."

"The philosophy of utility fits every occasion."

"I've always had trouble accepting the notion of wildly obese health care professionals."

"I wasn't capable of that kind of deadpan performance. I lacked the self-control. I was too enamored of my own joke, and whenever that happened, I was doomed. And so too was the joke itself."

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book read so much like a memoir, and i really wanted it to be one. It is true that short chapters make for easy reading, especially when you have a 2 year old running around and you want to sneak a quick chapter here and there.

My only complaint were the series of definitions throughout the story, some of which i think could have been omitted.

I am not sure that the title fitted the story necessarily, but overall i wanted to keep reading so i am giving it an extra star. :-)

[bigmuzz]

i read this book based on the cover and blurb alone... i had no idea what the book was going to be about, but i decided to give it a go, and found a book written in an interesting and punchy style, with nice short sharp chapters the make reading quite easy and enjoyable. the book is full of wit and funny stories and situations. not the best book ever written, but there are many interesting themes, issues and facts throughout to keep you turning the pages

[Leesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chill, conversational novel. Listi is obsessed w/the fact that life has the potential to be meaningless, IS meaningless? And it enables him as a writer/the characters to be super-emotional and sorta cold/distant @ the same time and it's sorta fascinating but what I think doesn't matter, right? as;ldjk BOOK REVIEWS DON'T MATTER. I mean, they don't tbqh. But yes, I'll read/would read his next book. Life, right? !

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was some potential thread of a good story in this book, but it got buried in the frippery of random tangents and dictionary definitions. I got this book because I'd heard it compared to Dave Eggers' work. But it's not remotely close to the combination of hilarity and emotional resonance of "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius."

[Anthony Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pleasant departure from the kind of book I normally read. Despite my misgivings on the definitions peppered throughout it, the story is essentially about the narrator's search for himself after some particularly bad news. I found the epilogue to be powerfully emotional. Do give this a shot, if you can find it.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably closer to 4 stars but I read this during day 3 of feeling like utter crap so that probably tainted the experience of an otherwise interesting and engaging story. Mainly wish I had liked the protagonist more, but other than that I enjoyed reading about his year of self discovery, especially Burning Man!

[Lisette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing journey into life's meaning in an era where there is a lack of communication and connection to the humanity inside of all of us. However this book resonates, we can all find ourselves in Wayne's path to find life's purpose.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Met and began talking with this guy through a myspace blog.. Mainly about that point in your early twenties where you realize that you know nothing about yourself or anything else for that matter.. Written as fiction, but im pretty sure its partially auto-biographical.

[Alan]

Marginally enjoyable quick read. very short choppy chapters with little elaboration. Events happen rapidly and our hero doesn't spend much time thinking about things until the final post Ecstasy hangover. Not a major work, but fun

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it, love it, love it. a greater writer who is dedicated to his fans, his writing is incredibly refreshing.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

let me tell you, the title definitely fits the book. I had been reading this author's blog on myspace for some time now and thought I should check out his book. The book is well worth reading.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one, but it was just lacking something... I wanted more.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, and written is a candid matter that makes it seem like it's not fiction. An easy read.

[Hilde Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Really resonated with me right now.