The Underminer (2005)

If the passive-aggressive title character of The Underminer reviewed this novel, the critique might read: ''What a nice attempt at a first book! It's amazing how many people are getting book deals nowadays. I mean, they'll just give them to anybody!'' With the help of New York Times TV critic Virginia Heffernan, Mike Albo successfully parlays his one-man stage show into both a roman à clef about '90s decadence and a self-help Get the Heck Out of This Relationship Now and Join the Witness Protection Program tome. In a slight 164 pages, the Underminer robs an equally anonymous ''best friend'' of pals, self-confidence, and dignity. Albo's jokes punch hard (except for a feeble section on Burning Man) and his warning is worth heeding: Sometimes the ship in friendship is the Titanic.