Jim Knipfel

I received this book for free, from the goodreads first reads program.

I enjoyed the characters in this book. Their peculiar personalities made for some interesting reading. They seem to live in their own world, while interacting with the general population. Hank and his carny pal Rocky were fun characters. They seem to share a common past, although that is only briefly touched upon in the novel. I would like to read more of their backstory.

The plot, about how mass hysteria can grip a city, and the part the press plays in it, was believable, although I hope it never goes as badly in real life as it does in the book. I didn't quite understand the end of the novel. It appeared that Hank had some sort of new insight to the Gowanus Beast, but I wasn't sure what it was.

This book had a fast paced plot, and interesting characters. Hank's character may be offensive to some readers. He seems to insult everyone he comes in contact with, and many of his insults are based on racial stereotypes. Still, I enjoyed the way the chaos spins out of control as the myth of the Gowanus Beast grows.… (meer)

For me, the most effective aspect of Quitting the Nairobi Trio - a personal account of author Jim Knipfel's experiences in a psych ward after a failed suicide attempt - is that Knipfel restricts descriptions of these experiences (including delusions and hallucinations) to how he perceived them at the time that they occurred. This not only goes a long way towards illustrating his true state of mind at the time, but makes it easier read the emotional turmoil behind the analytical tendencies of mental illness as filtered through the mind of an intellectually curious student of philosophy. self-reflection cannot occur without self-deprecation, and Knipfel does not shy away from this important element. Above all else, Knipfel's accounts of this period of his life is handled with a dark yet ultimately optimistic humor that loses touch with humanity, and an end to the story that does not pretend to be an end to the story.… (meer)