Russell Fink is the neurotic son of a flaky healer/preacher and a quietly alcoholic mother. His grandfather is in prison for a double homicide and his brother is a self absorbed gambler running a coffee shop. His girlfriend is a drama queen who constantly takes Russell for granted, while the eccentric woman Russell truly loves has some deeply painful secrets. Russell thinks he killed his twin sister Katie years ago and that his Bassett Hound Sonny can predict game show answers and solve difficult mysteries with just the right amount of whiskey in his dog biscuits. And did I mention Russell sells copiers for a living?This is a strange and wonderful story with many redeeming moments. The sheer misery and strangeness of Russell's life is, at times, hilarious and, at others, painful. The book is a wonderful conversation piece, helped along by an excellent list of reader's group questions in its back pages. While there are lessons among the laughs, the book is far more interested in the strangeness of life than in reducing things to any sort of simplicity. Lessons learned in this story are hard won. If Russell would simply grow up a little bit, whatever that is, things would go much easier. But then we wouldn't have a story...and there wouldn't be another Russell Fink book, would there?
This is a wonderful Saturday afternoon read. Just be patient - Russell has some maturing to do!
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p.s. I just discovered all the tiny dog icons on the bottom of each page become an animated cartoon when the book is thumbed. How cool is that?
