The Resurrectionist

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Description
The journey was begun because of a father's love for his son, a journey driven by hope and anticipation, and by a belief that there had to be an answer.
Part classic noir thriller, part mind-bending fantasy, "The Resurrectionist" is a wild ride into a territory where nothing is as it appears. It is the story of Sweeney, a druggist by trade, and his son, Danny, the victim of an accident that has left him in a persistent coma. Hoping for a miracle, they have come to the forbidding, fortresslike Peck Clinic, whose doctors claim to have "resurrected" other patients who were lost in the void. What Sweeney comes to realize, however, is that the real cure for his son's condition may lie in Limbo, a fantasy comic book world into which his son had been drawn at the time of his accident. Plunged into the intrigue that envelops the clinic, Sweeny's search for answers leads to sinister back alleys, brutal dead ends, and terrifying corners of darkness and mystery.
Jack O'Connell has crafted a mesmerizing novel about stories and what they can do for and "to" those who create them and those who consume them. About the nature of consciousness and the power of the unknown. About psychotic bikers, mad neurologists, and circus freaks wandering in search of salvation. About loss and grief and rage. And, ultimately, about forgiveness and the depth of our need to extend it and receive it. Gripping, startling, mind-bending, and ultimately incredibly tender, "The Resurrectionist" is a masterpiece of invention that takes the familiar and makes it wholly new again. Visit www.enterlimbo.com.

Reviews

Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.

Publisher’s Weekly (02/04/2008)
Two worlds wrapped tight in gloomy gothic trappings vie for dominance in this engrossing, elaborately staged exploration of consciousness from O'Connell (The Skin Palace). Sweeney, an Ohio pharmacist, brings his comatose son, Danny, to the Peck Clinic, "a sandstone monster on fifty acres of private land near Quinsigamond's western border." Danny is all Sweeney lives for; he even studies the comic book Limbo, featuring a troupe of circus freaks led by the visionary Chick the chicken boy, for what his son may have imagined when his brain functioned normally. Like Stephen King in Richard Bachman mode, O'Connell digs for darkness as Chick and his companions, who inhabit the fantasy realm of Gehenna, encounter Dr. Lazarus Cole, "The Resurrectionist" (stoned to death only to walk again) and dread the inevitable showdown with their nemesis, "the mad doctor called Fliess," in his "enormous laboratory castle, the Black Iron Clinic." Meanwhile, in the real world, cultists kidnap Sweeney in hopes of using fluid from Danny's brain to transport them all to Gehenna. This strange brew is sure to enhance O'Connell's growing cult status. (Apr.)

Library Journal (04/01/2008)
Noir mixed with elements of dark fantasy may seem like an odd combination, but novelist O'Connell (Word Made Flesh; The Skin Palace) pulls it off in a strange and extremely original work. Sweeney has brought his comatose son, Danny, to the renowned Peck Clinic for treatment. But he soon discovers that despite its stellar reputation, the clinic and the surrounding town aren't what they appear to be. Soon Sweeney is not only involved with clinic staff but also a group of bikers who believe they have the answers Sweeney needs. The fantasy element enters in the form of Limbo, Danny's favorite comic, chapters of which are interspersed with happenings at the clinic. Although difficult to explain succinctly, the tale of Limbo and Danny's own story are related. In the end, this unusual novel may disappoint fans of straightforward mystery, but those open to something different should be pleasantly surprised. Recommended for adventurous fiction collections.-Craig Shufelt, Fort McMurray P.L., A.B.

ISBN: 9781565125766 | EAN: 9781565125766
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill  | Publication Date: April, 2008

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