The Contortionist's Handbook in The Velvet

Oct 24, 2010 Brandon Tietz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite

Clevenger almost wound up as one of those guys I'd wish people would stop prattling on and on about.

"So brilliant."
"Such a genius."

And I was so incredibly sick of hearing it.

"Dermaphoria" was what I ended up cutting me teeth on regarding his work, and I must admit, I found myself struggling through it and wondering what all the fuss was about.

That didn't stop me from picking up TCH when I finally found a copy for under $40, or more specifically, when MacAdam/Cage finally pulled their heads out o Clevenger almost wound up as one of those guys I'd wish people would stop prattling on and on about.

"So brilliant."
"Such a genius."

And I was so incredibly sick of hearing it.

"Dermaphoria" was what I ended up cutting me teeth on regarding his work, and I must admit, I found myself struggling through it and wondering what all the fuss was about.

That didn't stop me from picking up TCH when I finally found a copy for under $40, or more specifically, when MacAdam/Cage finally pulled their heads out of their asses and decided to give the book another print run. A movie deal and high demand can do that.

Nonetheless, my expectations were considerably low, and so the following read pertaining to an identity-shifting expert with an extra finger was that much more of a pleasant surprise. Palahniuk said, "...the best book I've read in five years. Easily. Maybe even ten years," and I'm inclined to agree.

Clevenger spins a web of lies and identity crisis so complex, it's a wonder that the reader doesn't get lost in the details of how to fake a birth certificate or SR-22, but the author never shakes you...not unless he wants to. In TCH, we see John Dolan Vincent pitted up against "The Evaluator" for his freedom after an overdose, the story alternating between this battle of wits, tells, and intellect, and the seedy past of this protagonist of how he came use a deformity to his advantage. It reads similar to Palahniuk: minimalist with loads of factual information regarding the trade of forgery (we've seen this before with Jack and explosives in "Fight Club"), but unlike the one and two-star reviews on Amazon where Clevenger is ostracized for being a rip-off, it's obvious to me that the author has made this style his own within the neo-noir genre.

Simply put, I see the influence, but nothing that would make me believe Craig wrote this thinking, "What would Chuck do?" And perhaps this is why his second novel turned out so different from his first...to distance himself from the name, the legacy, the style.

I wish he would return to it.

TCH is one of those books that when I put it down, I knew I'd read it again at least eight more times. I can't recommend it enough. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2009 Colin Miller rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

Craig Clevenger’s 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. Vincent gets monstrous headaches—“godsplitters” he calls them—and a near-fatal overdose pits him against a psychiatric evaluator to avoid being institutionalized. Vincent tells the reader his true story, including whe ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 11, 2009 Livius Nedin rated it it was amazing

Cleavenger's debut novel is a study in character behavior. Told from the viewpoint of a prescription pill addict during a series of psychological interviews. This is a book I can easily recommend to anyone.

This was my second read-thru of this book and the start of March, what I designated my reread month. ...more

Like · see review

Mar 17, 2010 Nick G marked it as to-read

Does anyone know why this book is now going for anywhere from $40-$80, and in some cases over $100, on Ebay and Amazon? I'm sure its not because its THAT GOOD of a book, WTF?

...more

Like · see review

Feb 19, 2009 devin rated it it was amazing

this is what happens when you take your time and do your research and give every sentence the attention it needs: A damn flawless book, written by Craig Clevenger.

Like · see review