by Thom Jones
First published 2007
Ad Magic returns to craft deceptive direct-mail campaigns for Global Aid while his sanity crumbles under the weight of Dexedrine, paregoric, and malaria. His thumb bears the damage from Rwandan soldiers as he churns out devastatingly effective appeals for money. Around him, other damaged souls navigate their own hells. A plastic surgeon throws punches even as his heart gives out. A diabetic with one foot gone tends to a black widow spider. In the African jungle, Dr. Koestler watches his baboon steal whiskey and mock Americans through disturbingly accurate mimicry. A young Marine questions his decision to enlist, then makes it worse by volunteering for reconnaissance missions that redefine awful. These are people who play Russian roulette for entertainment, box through fatal heart attacks, and find humor in the darkest corners of existence. Jones assembles a collection of the walking wounded who refuse to stay down.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, action, africa
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: damaged-characters, dark-themes, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Africa, Rwanda
Period: 20th-century
272 pages · Paperback · ALBIN MICHEL
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use, mental-illness, violence