Trevor Cole (2) (1960–)

This was great. I loved the attention to detail, especially regarding Jean's thought processes and realizations about her friends. The folding back of how self centred each human is, especially when they think they are being so giving and empathetic. The dynamics of how long term relationships work and don't work between friends and family members. All the things people don't say. Genius.

Practical Jean is all dark comedy, and in the heart of that comedy lies some of the most heart-breaking pathos one will ever experience. Wickedly funny and refreshingly original, Trevor Cole manages to capture the beauty of friendship and the despair of aging at the same time. Definitely not for the more sensitive reader, Mr. Cole posits one's duty as a friend and the very heated debate on the suitability of euthanasia.

On the surface, Jean is anything but practical. At least, that is what show more she has been told her entire life. Under the surface, however, her entire approach to life has been horribly pragmatic and sensible. Everything, from her career to her friendships, is a deliberate choice on her part, complete with fully comprehensible explanations for her actions. This is especially true of her choice to help protect her friends from the ravages of age and disease.

One is invariably drawn to Jean because she so obviously cares deeply about her friends. Setting aside her actions to focus on her intentions, she truly does not want them to suffer. It is one of the most selfless gestures one human can do for another. The fact that in order to prevent her friends from suffering leads to some gruesome scenes, thankfully kept fairly off-screen in order to let the reader's imagination make the most of it, is both humorous and sad. For all her practicality, Jean has obviously not thought through the consequences of her actions.

Even more pathetic is her burgeoning relationship with Fran. Mr. Cole perfectly captures how difficult it is for adult females to make friends. The desperation that oozes out of Fran's attempts to become friends with Jean are all too familiar for any female over a certain age. Fran's and Jean's scenes together are some of the funniest but also some of the saddest moments in the entire book.

Expecting something a little more tongue-in-cheek, Practical Jean was a welcome study on friendships and society's focus on the practical over the whimsical. There is one particularly gut-wrenching scene involving a young Jean, her mother, and puppies which occurs fairly early in the novel and that haunts the reader for the rest of its pages. Sometimes, being practical is not the end-all, be-all that people make it out to be.

Practical Jean is humorous, wise in its satire, and ultimately somewhat depressing. Jean is a woman who loves deeply, who wants others to be happy and safe, and who has seen first-hand the horrors in store for the old and sick. She is trying to manage her desire to allow her friends to die in dignity while skirting the condemnation she knows she will get from others. We should all be so lucky to have at least one friend who cares about us so much.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Harper Perennial for my review copy! show less

This book is a dark, dark comedy. There are definitely disturbing and unsettling things that happen throughout. You must have a certain sense warped sense of humor to enjoy it. If you do, you will love it like I did. The humor and story vaguely reminded me of the Coen brothers' movie Fargo. Maybe because this book is written by a Canadian and takes place in Canada so the characters all have that Northern nice thing going on like the characters in Fargo. The reason Jean is killing her friends show more in the first place is because she loves them so much, because she is so nice.

Jean is a wonderful character. Flashbacks to Jean's childhood show why Jean ended up in a place where she thinks that killing her friends is actually doing them a favor. She's a sympathetic serial killer and so weirdly reasonable that she can almost convince you that what she is doing is okay. If you're a fan of black humor, you'll be a fan of this book. show less

Zep Baker wants his ex-wife back, so he persuades a neuro-science researcher, Hope Riopelle, to help him. Together, they devise a plan based on the chemistry of the brain to "make" Zep's wife love him again. Through this research, Hope wants to learn whether loves is anything more than a bio-chemical reaction, because if it is, it will help her deal with her past trauma...and with Adnan, a man she is very drawn to.

Trevor Cole is a masterful storyteller, who can develop characters and take show more quirky situations and make them plausible. This story is, at times, darkly funny and also quite poignant. It was interesting to watch the two main characters grow over the course of their joint research project. This is my third book by this author and I'm anxiously awaiting more from him! show less