The Contortionist's Handbook

Clevenger, Craig

ISBN 10: 0007194153 / ISBN 13: 9780007194155

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Limited, 2006

About this Item

Ships from the UK. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.

Seller Inventory # 13563207-6

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Contortionist's Handbook
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007194153
• ISBN 13: 9780007194155
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 0.403 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

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. Maybe 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.

About the Author

Craig Clevenger was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Southern California, where he studied English at California State University, Long Beach. He has travelled extensively and lived in Dublin and London, but currently resides in California where he is at work on his second novel, Dermaphoria.