Mr. Peanut
Feb 24, 2011
Mr. Peanut
Author: Adam Ross
Publisher: Random House
Category: Fiction - Literary
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
On Sale: June 22, 2010
Price: $25.95
ISBN: 978-0-307-27070-2 (0-307-27070-X)
What if you were so desperate to keep the woman you love that you were willing to kill her to stop her from leaving? What if you were willing to stay in a marriage that was completely bizarre in it's arrangements because you couldn't imagine life without the other person?. How can a person be so deeply addicted to their spouse, but at the same time continuously imagine horrid deaths for them?
These are the stories in this book. Three marriages, all deeply twisted in some manner. Two in the present and one in the past. The one in the past just happens to be the story of Dr. Sam Sheppard, who had been accused of his wife's murder years before and then exonerated.
Sheppard is a detective and his partner, who happens to have a wife who hasn't gotten out of bed in months - for no known reason - are investigating the supposed suicide of Alice, a hugely overweight woman who lost well over a hundred pounds, got in total shape and then killed herself by eating a plate of peanuts, to which she was hugely allergic. At least this is what her husband says.
There are so many stories in this book, all twisted together in interesting ways, that you must pay close attention to stay on top of what is just a fantasy, a dream............. or reality.
The characters are not especially likable, nor do they inspire pity and understanding, but they are very interesting nonetheless. It's a fine line to walk as a writer to have unlikable characters that the reader wants to continue down the story path with but Adam manages to pull it off nicely.
This is not a book for the easily queasy. Quite graphic in parts but a very compelling read that keeps you immersed in the story the entire way through.
Download sample chapter HERE.
Video below courtesy of Hoover Public Library Southern Voices Conference 2011
