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Book Review: The Contortionists Handbook (Craig Clevenger )

13th June 2007

Johnny has got six fingers and that's the least of his problems, he's got the mob on his back, a series of phantom headaches and has to convince a psychiatrist that he isn't suicidal despite continual over-doses under different aliases. Written sardonically with the wit of a Tarantino diary, Clevenger's book follows the pursuits of a cynical mid-twenties nobody as he attempts to fly below society's radar and do enough drugs to kill a small bear.

The lead is a likeable, if somewhat unbelievable creation. Switching easily from day job to day job and then to elf-centred document forger by night, John Dorian Vincent actually has a hidden depth that really draws you in as he recounts his fractured childhood and fear of the ever looming 'God-splitter headaches'. Clevenger manages to craft a complex character rather than a stereotypical, disillusioned Generation X'er and he fits neatly into his less than simplistic maze of identity swapping and cat-and-mouse repartee with his psycho-analyst.

You'd be easily thrown by the acclaim splashed across the cover that reads like a 'Who's Who' of pop culture authors but Clevenger delivers and easily stakes a claim to be named amongst the Irvine Welshs and Chuck Palahniuks. For those of you looking to escape into something a little less cheery than the baking sunshine.

Chris Sloley