Book keeps reader guessing
Reviewer <B>Charles Lee Boyd</B>, a writer based in Hanahan
EVERYTHING HURTS. By Bill Scheft. Simon & Schuster. 275 pages. $24.
Bill Scheft's third novel introduces us to Phil Camp, a divorced fellow who is two-faced, appropriate since he also has two names.
In this book-within-a-book, Camp writes a popular best-seller that he publishes using the pen name Marty Fleck. Luckily, both are funny characters. The writing is swift and breezy but with an underlying message that deals with guilt and pain. Because it's a novel, it's more sit-down comedy than stand-up.
Ditsy characters abound, and sudden turns remind us this is not merely a lighthearted comedic romp. Sometimes you laugh only when it hurts. Scheft's and Camp's descriptions also are inventive. Scheft has written a lark with a limp, filled with deeds that trigger consequences. You become more and more involved with the principals and feel their joy and their pain. The well-intentioned usually face dire consequences.
The reader gets symptoms that really are symbols, an interesting style that keeps you guessing and enjoying the verbal flinching.
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