Product Description

This is a stunning novel about a brilliant young forger, who continually reinvents himself to escape the authorities, described by Chuck Palahniuk, bestselling author of "Fight Club", as 'the best book I have read in easily five years. Easily. May be ten years.' Following a near fatal overdose of painkillers, Daniel Fletcher is resuscitated in a Los Angeles emergency room and detained for psychiatric evaluation. Through a series of questions and tests, the psychiatrist must ascertain whether the patient intended to kill himself, or whether he can walk free. What the psychiatrist doesn't know is that 'Daniel Fletcher' is actually John - Johnny - Dolan Vincent, a brilliant young forger who continually changes his identity, to save himself from a lifetime of incarceration. Johnny has done such assessments before - many, many times. As he creates an elaborate bluff for the evaluator, Johnny reveals the true story of his traumatic past - a broken family, descent into the sinister world of forgers and criminals, and his one chance of salvation in the beautiful and elusive Molly. But time is running out; as his underworld clients lose patience and the psychiatrist's net closes around him, Johnny has to negotiate the escape act of his life. Evoking the boulevards and strip bars of 1980s LA with cinematic intensity, "The Contortionist's Handbook" is a darkly hypnotic and stunningly original debut.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148633 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
'A dazzling and highly original debut novel which instantly establishes its author as one of the most interesting writers to emerge in years. This book deserves to be massive and I think it will be' Irvine Welsh 'Craig Clevenger has crafted an unforgettable antihero in John Dolan Vincent. This is an extraordinary debut' Richard Kelly, director of Donnie Darko 'What sticks out about this remarkable debut are its pitch-perfect shock ending and John Vincent himself -- his complex, conflicting mind, original voice and unnervingly self-defeating existence' Time Out 'A very impressive debut. The reader sees it from the con-artist's perspective, delivered in a snappy, first-person voice that Clevenger writes with assured flair. This is a tightly controlled piece of work with an intriguingly original approach to the genre that marks the author out as one to watch' Metro 'Clevenger has created a manic monologist whose paranoia-inducing world pulls you in completely' Seattle Times 'Clevenger's talent is revealed in his ability to create a true testament to the resilience of the human spirit' USA Today 'Immaculately detailed and emotionally explosive: this is rolling, riveting stuff' Kirkus Reviews [starred]

Irvine Welsh, Guardian
'an utterly persuasive and compelling novel, combining zest and enthusiasm...with the craft and guile of a veteran.'

Time Out
'Clevenger...writes so well that it becomes a fascinating spectacle.'

Customer Reviews

a concise summary of the contortionists handbook
BUY THIS BOOK IF:
You have any interest in psychiatric or psychological matters
You like masses of detail
You like masculine, relatively unemotional biographies
You enjoy books which start in the present and then explain what happened to get to that point.
You have an interest in drug culture
You would rather be left to think at the end of the book than have all the loose ends neatly tied up. This book ends in a mess of ends.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK IF:
You like books which start in the present and continue along a standard time scale of chapter 1: two days later, chapter 5: next month, etc.
You like lots of emotions in your books
You cannot handle very long, very detailed sentences
You like books which 'go somewhere' and finish in a very different place to where they started.

The story of a man who constantly changes identites in order to escape from various authorities. he is actually running away from many things, including his past and a dozen authorities all over america. After his fifth overdose, psychiatrists cannot figure out whether it was a suicide attempt or not. As the psychiatrist takes 'Daniel' through the interview, 'Daniel' (or John, or Steven, or Eric, whoever he is today) takes the reader through his life story to how he got where he is.

Good page-turner.

Clever Clevenger!
What a fantastic read! Chuck Palaniuck's recommendation caught my eye and was enough for me to snap this up! I'm glad I did! The novel follows the antics of Daniel Fletcher, a man who is constantly changing his identity. He is so good at it that he can fool anyone and everyone, even the authorities and the psychiatrist brought in to analyse him. He is a great character and Clevenger writes the part so well.
His conversations with the psychiatrist are particularly captivating as he is able to anticipate every move, every gesture and every question posed to him. Clevenger is a stickler for the smallest details and that's what makes him a great writer - I'm sure he could write about fly-fishing and I'd be equally fixated!
I loved it from start to finish. Short, but extremely sweet.

Buy This Book
Chuck Palahniuk says (on the cover) something like 'This is the best book I've read in five years, maybe even ten'

I have to agree. This is an amazing debut. It's a perfect rollercoaster of a book! Every peak and trough is placed exactly right. It'll grab you and even when you finish it'll stay with you. You will miss your stop if you read it on public transport. You will want to stay off work to finish it.

How good is this book really? It's one of those rare books that you'd spend your own money buying numerous copies of to give to other people.