Reasonably enjoyable until you tire of the repetitive "how to forge a [form of ID]" rhetoric.

The protagonist (a mutant, drug-addled, migraine-inflicted Holden Cauldfield clone) is unlikeable, the prose is pretentious and self-referential and the plot isn't nearly as clever as it likes to believe, relying primarily on the narrator's ambiguous vernacular.

The supposed "twist ending" as promised by the blurb on the back cover is frankly a cop-out, given that the storyline it concerns doesn't even develop until the last quarter, and is an aside from the central theme of the book. Thrown in for shock value but missing the mark it leaves the reader thinking "what was the point?" The bad guys aren't bad enough: the "system" is simply an inconvenience for our delinquent anti-hero and the "gangsters" are elusive to the point of being non-threatening.

Clevenger shows potential with his debut but is trying too hard to be Palahniuk. ( )

This book is brilliant. Really, really brilliant. We are taken on a journey to discover the twists and turns of the life of Johnny, Daniel, Eric, Steven... or whatever his name happens to be today. Another day, another psychiatric assessment. ( )

The Contortionist's Handbook introduces us to Daniel Fletcher who has just been admitted to hospital after an overdose. As Daniel begins to tell his story to a hospital psychologist we discover that he is not who he is claiming to be.

This is the dark story of a man committed to a marginalised and isolated life on the edges of American society where illusion and reality mix and unravel with alarming ease. His story of survival is set against the backdrop of 1980s LA and paints a very real and harsh picture of the city's drug culture and life on the border line of criminal society. ( )

I love this book so much I can’t write a review for it. I just do not think I am capable of capturing or explaining how poignant, smart, heart-breaking and beautiful it is. it’s that simple. ( )

John Dylan Vincent considers himself a "contortionist" but not in the typical sense. He is the master of changing identity...and every time he changes he feels like the man he saw put himself into a little suitcase, stay in there for some time then come out all refreshed with no signs of his experience on him. Vincent is very very good and very clever...but suffers from intense migraines & tends to accidentally overdose from pain medication trying to fix his problem. And with the overdose comes psychiatric scrutiny...but each time he picks up a different persona...a new identity.

I very very much liked this book ...this guy is so paranoid you start wondering who he really is and how he manages to stay afloat mentally. ( )