Books I've Read: Noggin

I read this a while ago and I loved it.  I adore books and films that have at their core a preposterous conceit that they manage to make work.  And this is exactly that.  The preposterous conceit?  A guy has his head transplanted onto a new body after he dies.

Okay.  So science fiction.  Well…  Not so much.

You see, the fun thing about this book is that the future Travis emerges into isn't that different.  Because only five years have passed.  Medical technology moved much more quickly than anyone expected, so suddenly Travis is back, still 16 and living with his parents.

Yet the rest of the world has moved on five years.

It doesn't feel like a lot, but imagine how different it is to be 16 and to be 21.  And that's what Travis has to contend with.  The girlfriend he still adores has grown up and doesn't want to feel like she's babysitting or cradle-snatching when she hangs out with him.  His best friend no longer shares the same interests.

I loved the way this book so vividly evoked how much you grow and change in such a short period of time, and how it feels to be left behind.  I laughed in placed; I cried in others.  But overall, I loved this book and its inventiveness.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Listen — Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t.

Now he’s alive again.

Simple as that.

The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but he can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still 16 and everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too.

Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, then there are going to be a few more scars.

Oh well, you only live twice.