Customer Reviews

The Contortionist's Handbook

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was looking so foreword to reading this book after Chuck Palahnuik stated it was on of the best books he has read in a decade.
I suppose I set my expectations too high. I thought the book would have more depth and substance, but honestly the main character kind of fell flat for me. I neither liked him nor hated him, just felt ambivalent about him. The book does have some interesting stories woven into it, but it is definitely not as great as one would expect it to be, after such a glowing Palahnuik review.

This book is about a guy who has terrible headaches. He takes obscene amounts of all the best drugs to try and shut out the effects of these aches. Usually this ends up with him in the hospital being revived or sedated. After an incident like that a social worker is assigned to interview him to and decide if he is sane and can be released or if he needs to be turned over to the custody of the state. As luck would have it our "contortionist" is a forgery wiz and creates a new identity every time his current persona gets into a sticky situation. The story flashes back during a social worker interview, and ties together nicely with funny moments through out the entire book. Its an interesting read and it seems that Clevenger (the author) has a background in the field. But he is probably just a good writer. The Contortionist's Handbook is terrific read. Pick up a copy! Another book I need to recommend, as others have, is the comic novel, "The Losers Club: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez, a fast, darkly funny novel with short chapters and a goofy light touch, kind of like "High Fidelity." So definitely my top 2 Amazon recommendations are The Contortionist's Handbook and The Losers' Club -- you won't be bored.

I rarely write reviews...especially about books due to the fact that I'm very very picky about which books I read. I found that with the Contortionists Handbook I was reading slower toward the end because I didn't want to finish the book...especially without another of Clevenger's to read. I was truly astounded as to how amazing this book was. The only reason I wrote this review is to tell you not to take the advice of any negative reviews...this WILL be one the best books you will EVER read.

this book definitely hooked me in right away. one of those books you wish you could read straight through ignoring the rest of your life for awhile. i found it very very well-written. there were weaknesses: i agree with another reviewer that the love story part was a bit sappy as well as the crime-mob dialogue. but i found the character himself really intriguing. that line "sometimes i can be so smart and sometimes i can be so stupid" sums him up. i really did feel like i was privy to the thoughts of this incredibly intelligent man who is missing some really really obvious stuff. he's devised the most complicated solution possible to his problem but he WORKS that solution so well, is so focused on that solution that its never occurred to him to try a different angle. and really his adopted solution makes perfect sense with respect to his background. i was a bit disappointed that he actually did break out of his one-track view at the end. i think it would have been a more interesting ending if he had stayed on his complex little hampster-wheel...
anyway.. definitely a promising writer. i'm looking forward to reading more of his work.

I will not go into what the book is about or what goes on in it. I am not that type of reviewer. I borrowed this book from a friend and thought it was well written and the subject matter made it even more interesting, and it just got better and better. I never write reviews but really loved this book.

Arrived on time and in great condition! Over all I give it 5 stars! Thank you so much. Would buy from again.

Loved this book, a real page turner, can't wait to read his next one, Dermaphoria, which is in the mail.

I heard about this book from chuckpalahniuk.net. Then I read the first 37 pages on this website, then I just had to buy the book.

I loved learning about how he gets his fake identities and how he realises he's happy(at least that's how I'm taking it) at the end.

Clevenger's a real writer to watch out for (gee, that sounds like a blurb.

The polydactyl protagonist of this exceptional novel is working hard to evade everyone, not least himself. He is a masterful teacher, and this book will take you into the art of false identification (at least I take the book as a valid description) from passports, to birth and death certificates, and all the myriad of data points that converge to define an individual in the modern world. One of the published reviews on this web site claimed that it suffered from a lack of plot, but I think the review somewhat misses the driving force in this novel -- it is not trying to save his girlfriend, Keara, nor is it trying to trick the "evaluator,"; rather, he's trying to evade himself. We are in the world of "head games" here, so it's a bit wide of the mark to compare this to a Tarrantino action/plot drive. In this handbook, it is the self on contorted display.