Rating: 
Summary: Unsettling and FUN!
Review:
This book is about a guy who has terrible headaches. He takes obscene amounts of all the best drugs to try and shut out the effects of these aches. Usually this ends up with him in the hospital being revived or sedated. After an incident like that a social worker is assigned to interview him to and decide if he is sane and can be released or if he needs to be turned over to the custody of the state. As luck would have it, our 'contortionist' is a forgery wiz and creates a new identity every time his current persona gets into a sticky situation. The story flashes back during a social worker interview, and ties together nicely with funny moments through out the entire book. Its an interesting read and it seems that Clevenger (the author) has a background in the field. But he is probably just a very good writer. This is a terrific book! Also recommended: WILL@epicqwest.com by Tom Grimes and The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, if you're not paying.
Review: A timeline is needed to assist my evaluation of this book. First three pages, I thought, "This is bad. I'm going to not read it," which was promptly followed by, on page four, "Whoa! This just got interesting." It stayed this way until page 128, where I concluded, "This was interesting, but now it's just too much of the same thing," and, seventy-one pages later, I was finished. The book was entertaining yet repetitive, but it was short enough that by the time it started getting dull I was twenty pages away from finishing. The book is just a 199-page character sketch about a man that makes counterfeit documents and changes his identity frequently whenever his life gets complicated. Often, these complications are caused by accidental drug overdoses that are inflicted upon the main character when he tries to remedy some severe migraines that occur infrequently but, when they do, are incredibly painful and long lasting.
Such an overdose lands the protagonist in an evaluation with a psychiatrist, which is where the book takes place, alternating between flashbacks and real time. It's entertaining to read about how the forger's experiences molded him into the character he is and how his skills improved, and it's also amusing to read about the character's attempt to outwit the psychiatrist, but that's all the book is. It's repetitive and ultimately unfulfilling, but it all happens so quickly that there's little time to complain. I'd recommend getting this book from a library or a friend, but it's not worth buying. As a first novel, it shows promise. Maybe in his next book, Craig Clevenger will write about a subject he knows well and it will be more interesting. Or maybe he'll write about robots, ninjas, and pirates fighting on the moon, which would also be interesting.
Rating:
Summary: READ THIS NOW
Review: After seeing this book recommended on a Chuck Palahniuk fan site, I ordered a copy and proceeded to blow through it in a matter of hours. Absolutely amazing book, made more impressive by the fact that it's Clevenger's first novel. It's an intense read that you don't want to ruin by reading reviews or in depth descriptiopns. GET THIS BOOK NOW!
Rating:
Summary: Stellar debut, engaging, hilarious and heartbreaking.
Review: By the bottom of page five, I was absolutely hooked. Clevenger has a knack for giving you just the right details for you to come to the wrong conclusions, then setting you straight in a startling way. Instead of one 'aha!' moment, there are dozens, places where you realize that you've been thinking ahead on false assumptions. Sometimes these moments are funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but they're layered through the book.
'Contortionist's Handbook' is an apt title, as John Dolan Vincent folds himself into an impossible position and then finds the one, altogether counterintuitive way out.
On a separate note, something I found very satisfying about this book is Clevenger obviously did serious research into autistic spectrum disorders to give a believable first person idiot-savant. Far from being a 'Rainman' stereotype, he has personality traits and perceptions that very much fit into the spectrum. And his eerie talent is both his strength and his weakness, in the classic sense of a Greek tragic hero.
He also captures the pre-IDEA special-ed environment in damning detail, and the reality of children who not only lack bourgeois advantages but even decent parents and housing, without being maudlin.
The result is a book that bears repeated readings, probably the strongest debut novel published in five or more years. I believe if it had been published by a higher profile publishing house, it might have stood a legit shot at the National Book Award or Pulitzer.
Rating:
Summary: What fresh hell is this?
Review: Clevenger's "man of a thousand faces" is young, adaptable and a genius with spatial configurations. He is an artist, a forger of documents, with a degree of precision that guarantees success seldom achieved in a risky business. In a psychological minefield, this modern-day urban MASH is a stunning accomplishment. There is no truth in John Dolan Vincent's life, only change. Neither victim nor apologist, Vincent is an addict, a con and a forger. These days he is driven by the need to escape from one identity to another, pursued by the "system" and some thugs who dig his exceptional talent and want to keep him nearby. The periodic migraine is Vincent's true nemesis. Once the horrific pain hits, John plunges over the edge of common sense into blind panic, indiscriminately downing illegal painkillers and booze. Unfortunately, he usually loses track and overdoses, saved by the quick response of emergency services. Hence, the need for multiple identities. Once in the system, if listed as a patient previously flagged as a suicide risk, he would automatically be a candidate for mandatory 72-hour observation, or longer, and massive infusions of mind-numbing Thorazine. In this latest incarnation, Vincent is "Daniel Fletcher", running one step ahead of the other guy's synapses during the psychiatric evaluation/assessment. A self-admitted "contortionist", Vincent morphs identities the way a real contortionist changes shape. John's personal life is complicated as well. One of the most likeable characters in recent memory, John tells all, holds nothing back from the reader. Women, sex and drugs blend together, depending on the amount of recreational drugs in his system at any given time, in one potent cocktail you just can't stop drinking, shooting out existential visuals of Heaven/Hell. In John's words, "...a thousand moments with Natalie blasted through my memory like a pillow torn open in a high wind." (Note: Don't judge a book by its cover. Some readers picked up this extraordinary novel because of the cover; I almost overlooked this gem because the cover led me to a different conclusion about the contents...no matter, by the end of the first page, I was hooked.) A few years ago, when the hip, irreverent Brett Easton Ellis hit the literary scene, the young author was an immediate star, a drug-speak party boy who was the darling of his niche in popular fiction, mixing with the denizens of the drug culture, cruising the spoiled-little-rich-kid LA party circuit. Less Than Zero offered a glimpse into that dangerous/seductive world of decadence, unspoiled by red lines of infected needle tracks or jonesing so bad, his couture slacks were urine-stained and stinking. Even the corpses looked good by the time they were transferred to film. But, like his tragic young junkies, victims of their own excess and too much money, Ellis' talent washed away as fast as cocaine stayed legal, eaten alive by his own PR machine. Worst of all, Ellis disrespected his audience, laughing all the way to the bank on the misogynistic profits of American Psycho. In contrast, Craig Clevenger is the real deal, a writer's writer, who buys his experience the hard way and high-fiving the street folks who live down and dirty, gliding along one notch below visibility. A true "contortionist", Clevenger has shelf life. Luan Gaines/2003.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: Clevenger's a real writer to watch out for (gee, that sounds like a blurb.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst books I have ever read in my entire life
Review: DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!!! I picked up this book because i was intrigued by the premise and happend to hear about the author through a certain writer's website. This book is horribly written, corny, predictable, and at many moments i found myself laughing at loud at what the author actually thought was worthy of writing. This book goes into the catagory of those teenie bopper high school large print novels. Please dont waste your time. If you want to read a real book go out and BUY my favorite book of all time "Last Exit to Brooklyn" by the late and beloved hubert selby.
Rating:
Summary: The Contortionist's Handbook
Review: Don't let anyone tell you otherwise...this is a dark book and not for the faint of heart. But if you're hooked after the first few pages, you're in it for the long haul. Who knows? You might just pull an all nighter and read it in one sitting (and you won't be the first one). I have met Craig, and I know that he labored over this first novel, and it truly shows. I was completely blown away by the incredible detail in the story. In fact, it's so well written that it blurs the line between fact and fiction. Whatever the case, Craig did some serious research of some gritty material to pull this book off. His main character, John Vincent, lives his entire life running from and dodging his own emotional and physical pain. And I mean deep, deep pain. But despite (or because of?) the truly dark life of this character, Craig's book shines. He is a gifted writer...his style is uniquely his own...and as someone else mentioned in their review, certain sentences and paragraphs are so well crafted that you can't help but reread them for their ultimate appreciation. It's hard to articulate, but there is something unusual about Craig's book...something that I didn't expect. On the surface the book is all of these things: smart, disturbing, calculating, shocking, heart-breaking, sordid, clever and sad. But beneath all of these layers, there is this main character with this will to live fueled by a thimble full of hope resulting from this love for a girl we'll call Molly. Picture a pitch black box with only a pin hole of light...(Molly)...that's this guys life. I can honestly say, I have never read a book quite like it. True, true, true.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing like Palaniuk
Review: Everything about this book is weak from the characters to the story. His style is similar to Palaniuk's, and if there is one bright spot about the book it could be that, but what I want most of all is a good read, and you dont get that from this story. It goes nowhere and you couldnt care less.
I hated the main character and really didnt care about his life in the least, a stupid, young, whining drug-addict. I typically dont care to read the author's descriptions about the effects of snorting cocaine. I was really dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Fascinating read, very intelligently written. This book isn't dark though, it's just very smart. It's a great read and should be on your reading list. You won't be disappointed by this one.
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