Amp'd by Ken Pisani

4 Stars

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I was reading books just based on seeing a teensie little blurb posted out on the interwebs by friends? Amp’d fell into that category due to the first line of Sandra’s review . . .

"I’m the guy who wakes up in the hospital to find out his arm has been amputated and says, Fuck me."

But then . . . .



So I’m just now getting around to reviewing this sumbitch. And now I’m going to do something I absolutely LOATHE: If you are a fan of Jonathon Tropper, then this is the book for you. Since I get paid zero dollars and don’t work as a publicist, you can trust that I’m not lying. If you fell in love with Judd in This Is Where I Leave You or any of Tropper’s other loveable losers, you’ll probably fall for Aaron as well.

As the snippet above states, Aaron’s world is rocked when he wakes up after a car accident sans arm and has to move in with his father during his recuperation. It’s in his childhood home that he (over)medicates himself with various prescriptions and pilfered bottles from his father’s liquor cabinet, learns about his parents’ unconventional separation, bonds with the family pet . . .



gets some harsh truth from his mother . . .

“If only there was a future in bullshit, Aaron. You’d be unstoppable”

starts falling for a voice on the radio, and makes a new friend in the most unconventional of ways . . .



Oh Ken Pisani . . .



You, sir, were an absolute delight to read. I loved nearly everything about this book – from the realness of Aaron’s pity party and downward spiral all the way to his redemption arc. And the writing? Oh, you’re good at dialogue . . .

“Do you have a dollar?”

“Yes?” he says tentatively.

“Well, hang on to it. Someday you may want to give it to a nice girl who dances for you.”

To quote from one of Tropper’s works . . .



I loved these idiots.