Flawlessly written. A story of breaking the walls, literally and figuratively, of a human 'doing' existance to transform into a human being. Homes characters are down to the bone real, complete with phobias, flaws, joys and life experiences that will touch every reader. ( )

Great, strange book about a disconnected man who gets back in touch with life. ( )

Easy summer reading, but not a great style and the story is not that original. I loved the cover though :) ( )

Another book I bought because I liked the cover and the title intrigued me, I wanted to defy it (I had the donut covers, yum).
It's a pretty good story. I liked the style, which I don't usually like. It's not preachy, but at the same time you reevaluate the priorities of the life we live in. I was told that this was similar to the Bonfire of the Vanities, so that's on my list of books to read as well. ( )

The protagonist, Richard novak, has seemingly withdrawn from life, the world outside and society in general, very near the beginning we see him try to remember when he last went out and he remembers going to the theatre with friends which, when he checks his diary, was months ago but it seems like a very recent event to him. His days involve nothing more than excercising, eating healthily and buying / selling shares online. It comes as a big shock to him then when he suffers a (possible) heart attack and is forced to leave this safe bubble he has made for himself. From then on he meets a variety of people, from a lady crying in a supermarket to his neighbour, who he hadn't met before, who turns out to be a famous actor. The book shows how he comes into their lives and trys to help them while at the same time they try to help him by bringing him back into social contact.
This book seems to divide people rather like Catch 22 into those who love it and those who hate it and I can quite understand both sides ... I enjoyed reading it, it is well written and it does draw you in in a sort of 'what ridiculous thing is going to happen next' kind of way. He meets an ageing hippy who is friends with Bob Dyland and wrote THE counter culture book of the '60's, goes to a meditation centre to try and 'find himself', saves a horse from a hole and even more bizarrely rescues a woman trapped in the boot of a car. But each new person he meets is so incredibly unbelievable, famous movie stars, hero of the '60's, he even breaks up a meeting with Harrison Ford and American president Ford, that any point to the story is quickly lost. I can't quite believe that any of these people actually needed saving in the first place. ( )