The novel is largely reflective of the novel-narrator’s life.

“The Golden Vanity” features a writer seeking to turn his short story into a novel for the big publishers to bid upon. The short story of discussion is then reproduced in its entirety. He decides that his novel is going to be open-ended with many possible explanations and futures. At various points throughout the novel, the narrator questions whether what he is experiencing is real, and where it is occurring. For example, one evening he suspects he may be in 1883, 1912, or 2012 when he comes upon gaslight streetlamps in Brooklyn. Between disasters within, natural disasters, and a potential disaster of the self through struggling to write a novel expected to be bid upon by numerous publishers, the narrator begins to experience sensations of unreality, surreality, and time warps. He also struggles with the fact that he has been diagnosed with a serious heart condition which could potentially kill him. He helps Roberto to write a book on the brontosaurus, and how it was mistakenly classified early on.Īs the narrator struggles to write his novel, he must also contend with the knowledge that global warming is sending massive storms the way of New York. The narrator himself wonders what it would be like to be a father, a question that yields some answers in his decision to mentor a young boy named Roberto. She is worried that her chances at marriage have all passed her by. At the same time, the narrator’s best friend, Alex, has asked him to donate sperm to her so that she can become pregnant.

As the novel begins, the New York-based narrator explains he has written a short story that he is seeking to turn into a novel. “10:04” is a novel by Ben Lerner in which Lerner has composed a novel based on a short story in which the never-named narrator seeks to write a novel from a short story, while the narrator in the short story seeks to write a novel from a short story. This guide refers specifically to the October 2015 Picador USA paperback edition. NOTE: Due to the structure of this novel, quotes are referenced by page number.

10 by Ben Lerner