There is a truth commonly acknowledged in dorms, basements and crowded apartments the world over – couches are magical things. They serve as beds for unexpected (and often inebriated) house guests, stadium seating for intense Xbox contests of skill and the site of first romantic gestures. The kind of gesture made when neither party can continue to feign interest in another bad DVD and making out is more compelling than Seth Rogen.

In preparation for this week’s review, I carefully studied the couches populating our living room. I found two pairs of argyle socks (they had magically migrated to a remote corner underneath some throw cushions) and the expected loose change – about $2.75, which caused Andrew to declare himself a “dollar menu-naire.” Benjamin Parzybok’s debut novel elevates this common piece of furniture from the stuff of everyday magic to something much more powerful.

“Couch” is the epic story of three misfit roommates – a mustached ladies’ man, a lumbering computer geek who can’t digest wheat gluten, and a visionary hippie who bakes a mean pie and has prophetic dreams – and their desire to escape their loserish existence in Portland.

When the upstairs neighbors’ waterbed sexcapades leave the trio soggy and evicted, Erik, Thom and Tree are ready for a vacation. After failing to unload their giant orange couch at various thrift stores, the three men realize the couch is their destiny, one which will take them far away from home. Lucky for them, the couch is seaworthy.

The novel’s premise might sound a little wacky as described on the back cover, which says “Three guys move a couch, save the world,” but quirkiness constitutes this story’s charm. Many of the characters’ idiosyncrasies bring to mind Douglas Coupland’s often free spirited inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest. For instance, “Couch” includes a computer nerd whose past includes hacking a Microsoft-esque company to prove a useless point. It seems rain breeds restlessness and points creative intellects in odd directions.

Like any adventure tale, Parzybok’s includes twists and turns which keep the reader going when fatigue might otherwise overwhelm both couch-bearer and book-holder. There were a few moments in the novel when I found myself echoing the characters’ “Are we there yet?” sentiments, such as the encounter with the incredibly tedious conspiracy theorists, but on the whole the story moves along at a pleasantly quick pace.

Novel endings are tricky, especially when magic must be reconciled with a familiar reality, and Parzybok goes out on a bit of a limb to explain the couch’s secret. The secret, however, reinforces the novel’s primary argument – accept the unexplainable and entertain the notion that magic just might exist, even in your couch.