If you like Chuck Palahniuk give this a go...

The Contortionist's Handbook - Craig Clevenger

I'll start this review by saying that while I'm a fan of Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote this which I really liked...

 

 

                                                  ...I do find his perverse narrative a bit much at times! Anybody else agree? Anyway, this novel, praised by Palahniuk, strikes the perfect balance. It has the style of Palahnuik, without the craziness.

 

The synopsis of this is the protagonist-I don't know what to call him and you'll understand if you read it-suffers from chronic headaches. This immediately pulled me in as I too am a chronic headache sufferer. He frequently over-does in an effort to quell the pain, is hospitalised and reinvents himself by using another identity. This, by the way, is his other skill-reinventing himself and other's using another's identity.

 

During this book he has been hospitalised due to another over-dose and is having a psychiatric evaluation-something which he's experienced at.

 

I listened to this on audio which I think added to my enjoyment of it, so if you get the opportunity I'd say seek this out.

 

I was slightly confused at the beginning due to the constant name changes, but as I soon realised, it wasn't really important to remember each name, so I soon stopped being bothered about this.

 

As the protagonist is being interviewed by the psychiatric evaluator, he recounts his past as a by-product of certain questions. This resulted in a fully-formed character who I felt as if I was personally acquainted with.

 

This was a nice short novel and one that I will definitely re-read.