But if you stop and think about it, there are plenty of reasons why you might be a little more critical of him. James Hannaham: That's absolutely what I intended. Gary is really a character you end up rooting for despite how pathetic he is. I would constantly laugh and tear up on the same page. Out : Well, first of all, your book is hilarious but also deeply moving. He talked to us (okay, we admit it, we're old friends!) about why he wrote about an uncool guy in an uncool place, and about what, if anything, he and Gary have in common. Gary's the protagonist of God Says No, the debut novel of New Yorker James Hannaham, a longtime arts critic and journalist for places like The Village Voice and Salon and an alum of the experimental downtown performance troupe Elevator Repair Service (ERS). But the universe has other plans for Gary, involving fatherhood, a life-changing incident on a train, a fabulous stint in Hotlanta, a tenure at a surprisingly fun-loving ex-gay conversion camp - and maybe even a chance at not being a total mess. With perhaps the world's dullest name, he's also morbidly obese, happiest when he's at Disney World or Waffle House, simple-minded, naive and stubbornly of the belief that if he truly surrenders to Jesus, he'll be de-gayed.
