The Call: A Virtual Parable

From the screenwriter of The Zero Theorem comes the book that inspired the film. Roberts is not interested in food, sex, or any of life’s pleasures. Hapless yet endearing, the morbidly pale protagonist of The Call spends his days at the computer in his windowless apartment, waiting for a phone call that will give his life meaning. But when his phone proves insufficient, it takes a techno-savvy dominatrix to help our hero upgrade his existential hardware and a pre-pubescent hacker genius to break his solipsistic shell. In this modern parable of man’s search for meaning, Pat Rushin’s playful prose and sharp humor turn what may be a hopeless journey into an incredibly fun read.

From the screenwriter of The Zero Theorem comes the book that inspired the film. Roberts is not interested in food, sex, or any of life’s pleasures. Hapless yet endearing, the morbidly pale protagonist of The Call spends his days at the computer in his windowless apartment, waiting for a phone call that will give his life meaning. But when his phone proves insufficient, it takes a techno-savvy dominatrix to help our hero upgrade his existential hardware and a pre-pubescent hacker genius to break his solipsistic shell. In this modern parable of man’s search for meaning, Pat Rushin’s playful prose and sharp humor turn what may be a hopeless journey into an incredibly fun read.

Pat Rushin is the author of the story collection Puzzling Through the News. His original feature-length screenplay, The Zero Theorem, was produced in 2014 by The Zanuck Company and Voltage Pictures, and directed by Terry Gilliam. He has published essays, screenplays, poetry, but mostly stories, in a variety of literary magazines, including The North American Review, Quarterly West, Sudden Fiction, Indiana Review, The Beloit Poetry Journal, The Johns Hopkins Magazine, American Literary Review, Fwriction:Review, and elsewhere. He teaches creative writing at the University of Central Florida, where he has also (twice upon a time) served as editor of The Florida Review.