To Rise Again at a Decent Hour is a novel by American author Joshua Ferris. The protagonist of the novel, Paul O’Rourke, a dentist with his own successful practice in New York City, finds himself getting frustrated over the fact that people do not seem to prioritize their dental health. Paul resents the narcissism that runs rampant in society, partially blaming technology for this problem and referring to cell phones as “me machines.” The novel provides an in-depth look into Paul’s early years, and how he came to be the man he is today. His childhood is described as having been chaotic, riddled with intense highs and lows. Paul’s father, Conrad, suffered from serious mental illness. Paul remembers his father as a devoted Red Sox fan. They would watch all of the games together; his father had many superstitions surrounding the outcome of these games. In spite of the fact that the team had not won a World Series in years, Conrad held out hope that one day his team would make it. Before that happened, he committed suicide, shooting himself in the bathtub after a serious depressive episode. This incident has continued to haunt Paul well into his adult life. He has developed a persistent fear of being awake alone at night. This intense loneliness, manifesting itself as a result of his father’s absence, has colored Paul’s life ever since. Paul’s dating life has involved several serious girlfriends over the years, but his main goal in dating was always to integrate himself into his partner’s family. Paul is a self-proclaimed atheist, but his first serious girlfriend, Samantha, was from a staunchly Catholic family. In spite of their opposing religious beliefs, Paul found that he was drawn to Samantha, and she seemed to accept him even though he insisted that he did not believe in God. At work, Paul sees an uptick in new patients, one of whom is Al Frushtick. Al tells Paul that he is part of an ancient religious group called the Ulms, and explains to Paul that he is part of it as well. At first, Paul interprets this as an effect of the gas that he administers to the patient during his dental procedure. Shortly thereafter, Paul is browsing the Internet when he comes across a website for his dental practice. Paul has no memory of ever creating or approving such a site and finds the whole situation perplexing. When he attempts to report the site and have it removed, he finds it to be impossible. Paul contacts Seir Designs, the company he believes is responsible for the creation of the website. He soon realizes that he is communicating with Grant Arthur the leader of the religious group Al was talking to him about. He learns that The Ulms believe that they are fulfilling their duty to God by doubting his existence. At first, Paul is skeptical about this seemingly contradictory notion, but then he realizes that most religions are based on some kind of cognitive dissonance and contradicting information. In an effort to gain more information about the Ulms and satisfy his own curiosity, Paul connects with another member of the religious group, a millionaire named Pete Mercer. Pete is a devout member of the Ulms. He tells Paul that he has explored most religions, always longing to find something in which to place his belief. Paul relates to this as he has also secretly longed for something that would make him feel whole. Although he has always touted his personal atheism, he secretly believes that his life would be better if he could simply accept the reality of God and focus on a religion. Just as Paul is coming to believe that the Ulms might be the religious community he has been searching for, Pete learns some new and disconcerting information about Grant Arthur that leads him to lose faith in the Ulms. He then drops all of his business ventures and commits suicide. Paul goes on with his life, admitting that his father is gone and that his devotion to the Red Sox has been fanatical because he hoped it might somehow bring his father back. He has been searching for something in devoting himself to the sports team, a source of hope and inspiration in his own life. He decides to devote himself to his work, continuing to explore the Ulms while once again focusing on his own life, bringing the attention back to himself rather than focusing on the Red Sox. The novel ends as Paul reaches a true turning point in his life when he spots a Cubs hat in the window of a local shop and decides that it might be time to start following a new team.

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Joshua Ferris

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To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

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