Noogie's Time to Shine

Being on the lam seems pretty exciting in the movies. Bags full of stolen cash, the Federales hot on your tail and miles of open road ahead. The title character of Jim Knipfel’s droll new novel—Ned “Noogie” Krapczak, a man who lives with his crazy mother in Jersey City and restocks ATMs for a living—yearns for such a life less ordinary. His big chance arrives when he stumbles upon the perfect crime. Gradually siphoning twenties from the cash machines he services, Noogie amasses a fortune of several million dollars. But when his employers catch on, he must flee with the loot (and his ornery cat, Dillinger). The initial excitement of being a fugitive quickly turns to weariness and paranoia as he heads toward Florida and an unglamorous fate.

Jim Knipfel—best known for his cranky memoir Slackjaw—knows how to write lovable bumblers. It’s clear that Krapczak (pronounced “CRAP-sack”) will not get away with this pedestrian crime. He’s short on brains, charm and derring-do. But Knipfel offers interesting and dryly funny insight into the psychology of this obtuse antihero. Noogie’s interactions with his mother are first-rate, and his complete lack of social grace can be hilarious: In one scene, he ends a joke with the punch line “How ’bout some service, ya stupid-lookin’ Irish pig!”—at an Irish pub. Alas, Knipfel accumulates these stories of mishap with such alacrity that he—much like Noogie—doesn’t quite know when to stop. The book’s final quarter is essentially an epilogue that could have been condensed into a page and a half. Still, when it shines, this book is a formidable contribution to loser lit.

Knipfel reads Tue 16.