In The Daily Beast today, novelist Taylor Antrim ponders the declining fortunes of the white American male–reviewing three summer books looking at these popular literary subjects.

Antrim (pictured, via) studies “Asterios Polyp” by David Mazzucchelli, “Amateur Barbarians” by Robert Cohen, and “This is Where I Leave You” by Jonathan Tropper, concluding that this is the “summer of our white male discontent.”

Here’s more from the review: “You’re a white guy who’s a little depressed, your eye is wandering, and you sort of want a fast car? Try putting that into an Op-Ed. But for the novel, nothing is beneath notice. On second thought, I suppose that won’t be much comfort to the likes of Glenn Beck and Pat Buchanan, and whoever else is fretting about the decline of white men in America. Well, face it, guys: It’s an irreversible slide.”