About the book:
A
cast of charmingly eccentric characters is brought together through
their accidental membership of The Conspiracy Kid Fan Club, resulting in
a glorious series of adventures
involving hamburgers, poetry, blues, mental breakdowns, art, death and
golf, as it propels the reader from Hendon to Biloxi, and from
Piccadilly to Pring.
The
friendship between Edwin Mars, a shambolic and underfunded poet, and
Joe Claude, a plodding and bereaved billionaire, lies at the heart of
the book – a friendship kindled
by Edwin’s sonnet, “The Conspiracy Kid Fan Club”.
But
what is the Fan Club? Who is the Conspiracy Kid? And what effect does
reading the sonnet have on all those who come into contact with it?
This
is the story of the earliest unwitting Conspiracy Kid Fan Club members:
Edwin Mars (poet), Joe Claude (billionaire), Walter Cornelius
(‘werewolf’), Muriel Cohen (chef)
– to name but a few. It tells of their loves and losses, their
tragedies and triumphs, all tied together in a tangle of conspiracy,
coincidence and string.
E.
P. Rose’s stylish and humorous prose, combined with an intricately
woven plot, draws the reader into a heady vortex of colliding worlds,
resulting in unexpected and often
hilarious consequences.
Or, as Edwin Mars, being a poet, puts it: This is the story of Joe Claude and me,
And of my son and the sisters he loved,
And of their father, how he came to be
In a graveyard - naked and uni-gloved;
Hamburgers, hurricanes, murder and string,
Werewolves and waiters and barmen and cooks,
From Maine to Biloxi, Mayfair to Pring,
Furniture, ketamine, golfing and books;
Marriages made and broken and mended
Under the shadow of loved ones who died.
See how the grieving billionaire endedUp in that prison where laughter’s proscribed.
Will he be rescued then? Read and find out
What The Conspiracy Kid’s all about.
E.P.ROSE is the nom de plume of a previous restaurateur,who has retreated from restaurants in order to concentrate on writing remarkable fiction.
Table Thirteen Books is committed to assisting him in this endeavour.
As he himself says: “I need all the help I can get. I seem to be so easily distracted
- See more at: http://www.tablethirteenbooks.com/authors/e-p-rose/#sthash.zvYAn2XX.dpufE.P.ROSE is the nom de plume of a previous restaurateur,who has retreated from restaurants in order to concentrate on writing remarkable fiction.
Table Thirteen Books is committed to assisting him in this endeavour.
As he himself says: “I need all the help I can get. I seem to be so easily distracted
- See more at: http://www.tablethirteenbooks.com/authors/e-p-rose/#sthash.zvYAn2XX.dpuf
E.P.ROSE
is the nom de plume of a previous restaurateur,who has retreated from
restaurants in order to concentrate on writing remarkable fiction. - See
more at:
http://www.tablethirteenbooks.com/authors/e-p-rose/#sthash.zvYAn2XX.dpuf
About the Author:
E.P.ROSE is the nom de plume of a previous restaurateur,who has retreated from restaurants in order to concentrate on writing remarkable fiction.
Table Thirteen Books is committed to assisting him in this endeavour.
As he himself says: “I need all the help I can get. I seem to be so easily distracted"
My Review
You don't have
to be kiddish, but it helps.
When I ventured
initially into the book, I had little idea of what to expect from it, since
classifying it under a particular genre seems a daunting task, just like
reading through the events that ensue.
It is almost
ludicrous that something apparently as innocuous as a sonnet can be the crux of
this all, and thankfully it isn't, the name is just figurative.
You are enrolled into the conspiracy
kid fan club as soon as you read the sonnet. It is irreversible and metaphorical.
There’s little relevance of the fan club apart from it being a bunch of people
around whom the story revolves. so to say, the characters are both the positive
and the negative aspect of the novel. Positive, in their presentation and
stories, and negative in their multitude and execution. The dialogues seem
interesting but then the whole plot is bogged down by unnecessary attention to
interest factual details which have little consequence for the plot. As a
result reading through the entire novel becomes a daunting task.
the ending however has been done quite
subtly, however that does not make up for the
lack of coherence in the plot especially in the latter half if second
part till the first half of third part. The plot has potential, but the timing
and manner of certain revelations is what pulls the ratings down.the best part
has to be the sonnets composed by Edwin. They are truly something to look
forward to, reread and savor. The first
part is the best which eases the reader’s transition into the world of the
conspiracy kid fan club. And the humor is all-pervasive throughout the novel.
The most endearing characters are Iris,
Muriel, Joe Claude.
Judgement:
Reading becomes delightful if you can
avoid the unnecessary information and concentrate on two things: one the
restaurant and the people behind it second Joe Claude and his family. How
Cynthia reviews the restaurant is really thrilling, though.
Best lines:
I don’t think it’s really
an area of competition, do you? Grief ? Grief is grief. I don’t think there’s
any point in measuring it, yours against mine, mine against anybody’s.
