“The Nihilist,” a philosophical novel by John Marmysz, is the latest release from publishing company No Frills Buffalo.
Inspired by real-life events as well as classic philosophical novels, “The Nihilist” tells the story of a philosophy professor caught in the grips of nihilistic despair. Following the death of his mother and the increasingly bizarre deaths of his closest friends, the nameless main character is afflicted with a mysterious malady that forces him to confront the absurdity of his own meaningless existence. Brain parasites, scatological dreams, punk rock and spontaneous human combustion appear alongside the ideas of Heraclitus, Socrates, Diogenes, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Heidegger. The result is a wryly humorous philosophical allegory of hopelessness and resignation in the face of the void.
Marmysz, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from SUNY Buffalo, currently teaches at the College of Marin in Kentfield, CA. His previous books include “The Nihilist’s Notebook” (Moralinefree Publishing, 1996); “Laughing at Nothing: Humor as a Response to Nihilism” (SUNY Press, 2003); “Fear, Cultural Anxiety, and Transformation” (Lexington Books, 2009); and “The Path of Philosophy: Truth, Wonder and Distress” (Wadsworth Publishing, 2011).
In the 1980s, Marmysz was the lead singer in the San Francisco Bay area punk rock band Sacripolitical and was publisher of the fanzine Twilight of the Idols. His experiences as both a punk and as a professor inform “The Nihilist,” which is his first novel. Marmysz’s blog, The Nihilist Void, can be found at marmysz.wordpress.com.
No Frills Buffalo is currently accepting submissions from writers interested in being published. For more information, please visit www.nofrillsbuffalo.com, email su*********@no*************.com or follow No Frills Buffalo on Facebook for frequent updates.
