From Publishers Weekly
It seems an unlikely setup for a laugh riot, but this satirical novel by Fitzhugh (Pest Control) kicks off with hero Spence Tailor's mother, Rose, on her deathbed in Los Angeles, at the top of the list for a heart transplant. Just when a heart finally comes in, it turns out that the president needs it, too, and the FBI prepares to whisk the organ to Washington, D.C. But Spence has had it with endless delays. The scruffy 39-year-old is an embattled do-gooder lawyer who's just been dumped by his girlfriend; his nerves are already frayed, and he's not about to let anyone get away with the heart-especially not the president. So he and his stodgy banker brother, Boyd, don ski masks, evade FBI agents, distract the surgical resident (by pulling her scrubs down) and steal the heart. Thus begins a zany cross-country chase whose L.A.-Washington axis allows Fitzhugh to skewer both politicians and celebrities, not to mention TV newshounds, HMOs, soccer moms and other features of contemporary life. He builds a complex plot with dozens of believable-if broadly drawn-characters, most of whom share the same two traits: deep political or family commitments contradicted by self-serving impulses. The humor occasionally devolves into slapstick and corny jokes (a drug designed to treat erectile dysfunction is called Mycoxaflopin), yet much of the novel is genuinely funny (especially a memorable description of political jockeying at a suburban parents' association meeting). While Fitzhugh's perspective is definitely left of center, his satiric eye spares no one.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Robin Cook teams up with the Three Stooges in this madcap cross-country romp by the author of The Organ Grinders (1998) and Pest Control (1997). Rose Tailor, in her late sixties and suffering from a bad ticker, is next in line for a heart transplant. Unfortunately for her, the president of the U.S. suffers a massive coronary, and his devious chief of staff, Martin Brooks, bumps Rose and puts the president at the top of the transplant list. This doesn't sit well with her son, Spence--the proverbial lawyer with a heart of gold--who steals the donor heart and kidnaps novice surgeon Dr. Debbie Robbins. What then follows is a hilarious road trip from L.A. to Salt Lake City as an ever-increasing cast of eccentric characters--from black-ops government agents to a school bus full of Mormon basketball players--gets involved in Spence's crusade. Fitzhugh skewers politicians, the media, the medical establishment, and the military in this riotous page-turner that will make readers laugh out loud. Highly recommended. Michael Gannon
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
