Set largely in Vancouver, the author’s hometown, and Florida, this fast paced thriller is populated by a host of misfits and kooks, most of them originally from Canada.
Quirky turns of phrases and metaphors, like “He looked like a bin of Salvation Army remnants” or , (in a sleazy restaurant) “Tinny generic-sounding Spanish music squeaked out of the wall panels, as though mice were partying inside.” abound.
Just when you, the reader, will think that nothing worse can befall the violent and chaotic Drummond family of five, it does, for all of them, thanks to the author’s vivid imagination. A bullet fired at their son by Janet’s ex-husband, who is sharing a bimbette with him, passes through him and in to her sternum, infecting her with AIDS from the promiscuous son. The astronaut daughter, with a missing hand thanks to her mother’s prenatal use of thalidomide is betrayed by her husband as her mother resorts to illegally imported use of thalidomide again, to treat her mouth ulcers from HIV, which also infects most of the family, one of them pregnant as a would-be surrogate mother. The astronaut has an affair with her Flight Commander, while her husband has an affair with his wife.
There are far too many chance encounters to be realistic, and I found it impossible to follow the sudden time and place shifts and the often non-sequester hate-filled encounters and conversations as the plot got more and more twisted and weird. Although medical science has progressed immeasurably since I was in that racket, and much of the science presented about HIV is remotely feasible, some is pure science fiction. But pure realism is probably not intended by the author.
As comical, light, diversional therapy, this is a witty farcical tale. Serious literature it is not. Good for anyone needing a laugh.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks, Tony
The Passionate Reader 