Craig Clevenger's first novel, The Contortionist's Handbook, is a lean, mean character study with a tough edge, but not without heart. At the start, we're introduced to John Vincent, Jr. But he's not going by that name when we first meet him. He's "Daniel Fletcher", one of many identities he's created for himself-- as we find out later-- and he's just overmedicated one of his periodic, massive headaches which his dad used to refer to as "god-splitters". As a result of this maybe/maybe-not accidental overdose, he's rushed to the hospital. Because it's deemed an apparent suicide attempt, he's forced to get a psychiatric evaluation.

Through this, we soon learn that this is far from the first time this has happened. Using the conversation with the doctor as a catalyst, Clevenger takes the reader on a personal account of John Vincent's life: a genius/idiot savant misdiagnosed as mildly retarded as a child, living with the deformity of six fingers on one hand, a rough home life with an absentee father and a weary, overworked mother. His lot in life of run-ins with the law seems predestined. With just enough information, Clevenger shows us Vincent's life and explains exactly what the reader needs to know without getting too bogged down with detail. It's a clear and eloquent book in a style that I, as a reader, really appreciate.

I don't want to give too much away here. Basically, John Vincent has an aptitude for a very precise artistry. For fear that his frequent overdoses will land him in a psych ward for the rest of his life, he uses this talent to create new identities for himself, forging birth certificates, driver's licenses, etc. The extent he goes to and how he does it is fascinating.

With a minimum of padding, Clevenger creates a fully-realized, complete person in John Vincent, Jr. We see how he was set on his course in life, unspooling what we need to know in satisfying snippets and pieces. This is an interesting and well-done first novel. Clevenger has a unique voice, and I'm excited to see what he comes up with next.

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