Monday, January 30, 2017

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison


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5 Stars

I read The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving in the olde times of 2013 back when my reviews consisted of sheer eloquence and brilliant observations like “it was guud.” Then I learned how to use Google and picture these sumbitches up to make up for my lack of writing skillz. Last year this became a NetFlix original movie which I watched while lying in bed like a fat slug when my family went out of town one weekend. A couple of months ago while trying to surmount the timeless first world problem of ”THERE’S NOTHING ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN” I forced suggested we all give this a go as one big dysfunctional happy family. And guess what? Everyone loved it. Because I am always right . . . .



After reading the ARC of The Young Widower’s Handbook (play your cards right and you might luck out and get two reviews from me today), I couldn’t stop thinking about this one. I also am 100% addicted to the “Read to Reel” thing – even though I’ve already won my coffee mug . . . . .


(^^^It’s a Major Award!)

And I can’t stop reading (or re-reading as the case is here) books that became movies.

But enough of that, this is a BOOK SITE. WTF am I rambling about (luckily I never do that, right?)?

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving is the story of Benjamin Benjamin (proving pornos aren’t the only books that are allowed to have idiotic character names). A superbadawful happened to Benjamin a while ago leaving him in a state of arrested development . . . .



With maxed-out credit cards and barely any cash left in his savings, Ben is forced to join the real world once again. He opts for a 28-hour class that will teach him how to be a caregiver and ends up assisting Trevor, a young man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who is pretty much the perfect fit. Much like Ben, Trevor is content to exist rather than live. He goes to the movieplex for a matinee each Thursday and eats the same waffles each morning . . . .



The only perk in his life is mapping places weird tourist traps he’ll never visit (like a double-decker outhouse or a Virgin Mary that appeared in a stump) while watching the Travel Channel . . . .



That is, until an opportunity presents itself and Trevor and Ben have a reason to travel to Salt Lake City. Can you say ermagherd ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Picking up a stranger or two along the way . . . . .



Do you want to read this yet? If not, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!?!? Broken people and road trips?????? That’s like the best kind of story ever!

“Life’s a fucking class A bitch.”

The book is Ben’s story and the movie is more Trevor’s, and the tone is very different. If you want an excuse to kind of rest your head in the oven for a bit, read the book. If you want the lighter side of the story, opt for the movie . . . .







Or do the smart thing and experience both : )

Book #6 in the Winter Reading Challenge even though I already got the mug.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Heartbreaking. Uplifting. Characters I want to find in real life to see what they are doing now. So good. Just read it. You won't be disappointed.

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