"The dentist tends to remind you of pain and the possibility of decay and disease," Ferris tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. He also chose a dentist as his protagonist because dentists can symbolize isolation. He wishes he had religious faith and could believe in something larger than himself, but to him church is "a dark bus station of the soul."įerris says he started the novel by first imagining a reasonable and devoted atheist as his protagonist - Paul O'Rourke - and how this character wrestles with the meaning of life and finding community. Staring into the mouths of his patients all day, the dentist in Joshua Ferris' new novel, To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, becomes obsessed with decay and death. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title To Rise Again at a Decent Hour Author Joshua Ferris
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