Partage des connaissances

Date de naissance: 1964
Sexe: male
Nationalité: USA
Lieux de résidence: Santa Barbara, California, USA
San Francisco, California, USA
Études: California State University, Long Beach
Professions: writer
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Critiques

The Contortionist's Handbook par Craig Clevenger

The Contortionist's Handbook is a novel that is stylishly written in a minimalist style that evokes Chuck Palahniuk. I've given the novel 4 stars primarily because of Clevenger's sense of style, mood, and dialogue, but unfortunately the tale never pays off with an emotionally satisfying or enlightening ending.

Signalé

waconner | 16 autres critiques | Jun 29, 2023 |

The Contortionist's Handbook par Craig Clevenger

The Contortionist's Handbook is an engrossing adventure story. The drugs, the sex, the criminal underworld portions could have been cut out and it still would be great. The conflict is between the individual and the system. Where the novel shines is in the first-person narration and the description made by that individual of what the State has been to him.

Bureaucrats, psychiatrists in white robes, the police, judges are the individuals on the other side of the line. In his side of the line, he mostly stands alone. The narrator has a very unique voice and the author writes so well that we get into the narrator's head very easily. The use of flashbacks is also great.

The prose has been described as reminiscent of Palahniuk's. There is truth to this, but then again Palahniuk's prose isn't really that unique if you think about it. Palahniuk's style is noir-ish, and reading the CH, I am reminded of the stylish visuals of the neo-noir film 'The Salton Sea' starring Val Kilmer.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

rufus666 | 16 autres critiques | Aug 14, 2022 |

The Contortionist's Handbook par Craig Clevenger

I really liked the complexity of the book but the story did not seem to have enough conflict for my tastes. He is an excellent author and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes the transgressive genre.

Signalé

Drunken-Otter | 16 autres critiques | Aug 20, 2021 |

The contortionist's handbook : a novel par Craig Clevenger

So far, almost overly Palahniuk-esque. Paranoid, cynical, misanthropic, arrogant. I'm glad he's given some character background, though, because it makes the protagonist somewhat sympathetic. Otherwise I think he'd be intolerable.

........

It had a really good ending. Still very, very Palahniuk-esque, minus any fantastic/supernatural elements.

Signalé

xiaomarlo | 16 autres critiques | Apr 17, 2019 |

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