Well, from the simply outstanding to the absolutely bizarre — and I mean that in a good way.
Max Barry delivers a deceptively simple tale of Charles Neumann, a mechanical engineer who suffers the most bizarre workplace accident while trying to retrieve his mobile phone from an industrial clamping press. Following the amputation of his crushed leg, he spends a few weeks coming to terms with his injury while learning to use a prosthetic.
Being an engineer (and I recognise this trait in soooo many people), Charles realises that the artificial leg is not as good as it should be, so sets about designing that will fix a lot of the shortcomings of prosthetic limbs (including the lack of wi-fi). His place of work is impressed; he finds himself in charge of a department dedicated to designing and building replacement parts for people. And while looking at ways to improve on his work, Charles realises that other parts of the body can be replaced with much better mechanical bits.
Right, I don’t want to say too much more because you really should read this yourself. It’s the most bizarrely entertaining book I’ve read in ages. As well as being choc-full of the strangest characters I’ve ever seen (some are nice, some are not, all are hilarious), it’s an absolute page turner in terms of pace and dialogue. And yes, the prose is tight, witty and a perfect match for Charles’s stream of consciousness.
Bits of it are a bit gruesome – but comically so. There’s nothing here that will have you running for the bathroom. But amidst the chaos and the humour, the book is a sharp stab at capitalism and the American health care system — which leaves everyone except the insanely rich about one major illness away from bankruptcy.
Great book. Thoroughly recommended.