Slivers of Reality

Slivers of Reality

First of this book was wacked. I picked up the book when I saw our public library was having an author signing. I easily sped through the book because I was in bed with a fever. This may not have been the best time to read about a psychotic episode. I began to feel just as freaked out as the main character.

John has suffered a hailstorm of life altering events, all at once. His ill father becomes so sick that the family must decide whether or not to take him off of life support. John's first son Josh is found in the basement in the middle of a heroin reaction. John has had two bad marriages and most of his family relationships are on the rocks. He also has a lot of anger.
Once John and his live in girlfriend Kate decide that they will have to let John's father die, they begin to believe that they are receiving messages from his disembodied spirit. While this seems plausible, John delves even deeper and begins a sever but acute mental breakdown. John thinks that as his father breathes his last breath, he transfers his Power to John. With grandiose and paranoid thoughts John is unable to sleep for days. He finally ends up in UNNI under sedation.

At times I didn't think that John would ever recover. His girlfriend Kate did not have a breakdown but fed into his psychosis at the beginning by encouraging his thoughts and behavior. Wildly strange! I did however feel for the character despite the strangeness.

Super weird book that I don't recommend reading while you are sick. I am wildly curious how the author ever came up with this idea.......eep. John's father was LDS so this religion was brought up at times in the book. No biggie really except there were parts that didn't seem to really carry through. At one point John sort of says he is Joe Smith (I take this to mean Joseph). Also John was given a blessing by his father's bishop. The blessing was called an LDS blessing, which I have never heard spoken of that way before.

Rating 3 I felt for John. I was taken in by the whole story although it did take some time. At first I was put off by John seeming very angry. Which he has every right to be, it just took some getting used to.
Rating R Language, mental breakdown, drug use, scary.