false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175550941m/527823.jpg 527823 7 The Contortionist's Handbook is the story of John Dolan Vincent, an abnromally gifted child with a prclivity for mathematics beyond his years. However, he also bears a rare deformity&#151;polydactylism&#151;and his genius is counterbalanced by a near absence of social skills and episodes of severe migraines. <P>As an adult his migraines occur with alarming regularity, and his repeated attempts at self-medication send him over and over to the emergency room. He knows that to visit twice is to risk being institutionalized as a suicide risk. So, following each trip to the hospital, he draws upon his skill as a petty forger, and reinvents a new identity for himself. <P>The Contortionist's Handbook is about the lengths people will go to in order to protect themselves from others and ultimately from themselves. 2381048 2002 The Contortionist's Handbook total:794|5:239|4:339|3:173|2:37|1:6| 794 3150 1114 95 4 1 false false Thu Dec 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 18:57:12 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 20:48:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 08:57:27 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 24 22:00:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 05:47:43 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 08:32:03 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 23:59:29 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 08:04:14 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Feb 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 16:37:48 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 13:45:18 -0800 2009 The Contortionist’s Handbook is a lean read with infectious language, but it feels like most of the tension also got cut.

The novel is told from the perspective of John Dolan Vincent, a brilliant six-fingered forger who has spent his life moving between identities. V...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 08:48:51 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 08:51:22 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Aug 03 15:21:42 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 15:32:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 25 23:01:33 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 10:52:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 13:52:34 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 14:12:02 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 01 06:58:42 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 01 07:18:21 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue May 29 01:12:18 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 12:02:43 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Oct 10 15:16:59 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 15:23:44 -0700 2009 The Contortionist's Handbook absolutely kills. A minute into it I was caug...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sun Jan 06 12:45:23 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 06 12:46:12 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 25 01:53:33 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 01:59:37 -0700 2009 Is one of these books that is unclassifiable so I can't really pick a shelf,but all together it was amazingly ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Feb 12 09:00:42 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 12 08:15:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Aug 11 14:03:20 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 14:17:15 -0700 2009

This was my second read-thru of this book and the start of March, what I des...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 13 04:26:29 -0800 2008 Sun Jul 26 10:45:52 -0700 2009
However the motivations behind...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jun 06 12:41:56 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 18:45:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 25 16:12:54 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 16:16:12 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Jan 02 15:34:25 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 15:35:32 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=527823