Jesse Eisenberg to join award-winning novelist Teddy Wayne in DUMBO
Brooklyn BookBeat
Whiting Writers’ Award-winner Teddy Wayne will be visiting DUMBO’s powerHouse Arena on Jan. 30 to celebrate the paperback release of his acclaimed novel “The Love Song of Jonny Valentine” — and joining him in conversation will be renowned actor Jesse Eisenberg, as well as writers Simon Rich and Dan Kennedy.
In “The Love Song of Jonny Valentine,” Wayne, who has been praised for his inventive humor, illustrates a frighteningly reflective satire of America’s fixation on fame. The book’s protagonist, Jonny Valentine, is an 11-year-old pop singer, managed by an L.A. label and his hard-partying mother. Idolized for his musical talent and looks, Jonny is successful in a superficial sense. But despite his popularity, he suffers from painful insecurities prompted by his absent father and his transition into adolescence.
Wayne’s novel is filled with apt humor, and his ability to write through the eyes of a child is uncanny. “The Love Song of Jonny Valentine” is at once a ridiculous and familiar exploration of modern American pop culture.