The Full Ridiculous (Mark Lamprell, Text)

Beginning your debut novel with your protagonist bouncing off the windscreen of a car is a rough opener, but it sets Mark Lamprell up to create a ridiculous downward spiral for poor Michael O’Dell. Struggling to cope with the reality of his accident, Michael’s good life begins to slip beyond his control. His daughter Rosie assaults a bitchy classmate, earning the attention of a loose-cannon cop. Michael’s pot-smoking son Declan is stashing illicit drugs in his bedroom and determinedly not studying for his Year 12 finals. Then Michael loses his job and, reduced to a single income, he and wife Wendy face losing their home. As his mental condition worsens and medical and legal costs rise, Michael is pushed to the very edge of his sanity. The use of the second-person narrative in this novel might irritate some readers, but it successfully works to draw you into Michael’s turbulent life. At times heartbreaking, Lamprell’s story still delivers enough light-hearted, often internal, banter to keep you from drifting too close to despair. The Full Ridiculous will appeal to readers of quirky, contemporary fiction such as The Rosie Project and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It reminds us that sometimes, to really appreciate the beautiful highs of life, you need to hit rock bottom first. 

Louise Fay is the special orders manager at Dymocks Adelaide

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews