Cooper, M. Thomas
42

Fiction
I was attracted to this book not only because of its title (an homage to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) but because Booklist's review described it as "Highly recommended for adventurous readers willing to expand the boundaries of genre fiction." It starts off at the apparent cliche--end of a marriage; two people married to each other and each experiencing discontent, hohum. George married a painter and ended up with Martha Stewart. When George comes home to find a cryptic note from his wife stating the obvious while invoking Murakami--she's left with their child, a subtle and yet relentless decline begins in George and consequently the life they'd built together. As George becomes more obsessed with finding his family the pace of the narrative becomes downhill-rollercoastering breathtaking. You will rush to find the answers to all his questions, dodging falling debris and careening events. While the end leaves a lot of questions unanswered, this is truly a fun reading experience. You might just be tempted to hop right back on and take this ride again. I can't wait to see what Cooper is going to do next.
Recommended September 2008

I was attracted to this book not only because of its title (an homage to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) but the review described it as "Highly recommended for adventurous readers willing to expand the boundaries of genre fiction." (Booklist) It starts off at the apparent cliche-end of a marriage; two people married to each other and each experiencing discontent, hohum. George married a painter and ended up with Martha Stuart. When George comes home to find a cryptic note from his wife stating the obvious while invoking Murakami: she's left with their child; a subtle and yet relentless decline begins in George and consequently the life they'd built together. As George becomes more obsessed with finding his family the pace of the narrative becomes downhill-rollercoastering breathtaking. You will rush to find the answers to all his questions dodging falling debris and careening events. While the end leaves alot of questions unanswered, this is truly a fun reading experience. You might just be tempted to hop right back on and take this ride again. I can't wait to see what Cooper is going to do next. ( )