Extraordinary Means

by Donna Levin

In a coma for two months after her accident, Melissa Silverstein discovers she has the ability to observe and follow the lives of her family

296 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1987

About the author

Donna Levin is an almost-San Francisco native, since she was born in Oakland. She’s the author of four previous novels, *Extraordinary Means*, *California Street*, *There’s More Than One Way Home*, and *He Could Be Another Bill Gates*, as well as two books on the craft of writing, *Get That Novel Started* and *Get That Novel Written*. Her papers are part of the Howard Gotlieb Research Center at Boston University, and the California State Library’s collection of California novels. On April 23, 2024, Skyhorse Publishing published her latest novel, The Talking Stick.

Reviews

[Alicia C Gephart Gephart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Giving this book a 2 rating is being very generous! Teens that talk in ways that are not at all reminiscence of the 80's. Extremely annoying speech from the teens as well as one of the adults supposed accent. I almost gave up on this one, but I am not one to give up, so I trudged through. It was a rather surprise ending, but there was nothing redeeming about this novel. My advice is to skip this one!

[Donna Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this novel witty, ingenious and compelling — a constant pleasure to read with its wicked humor, brisk pace, unpredictable turns that keep coming like switchbacks on a road, strongly-drawn characters, and did I mention, the humor. It splashes across every page.

This is the story of a young woman named Melissa, who just wants to live. Not everyone in her family shares her goal: She’s in a coma, thanks to a single regrettable pairing of of alcohol and percodan. Doctors say there’s no hope. Mom wants to pull the plug; Dad wants her to have a life, whatever that might mean for someone leashed to a respirator. Her siblings just don’t want this fragile, stressed family to be pulled apart. Melissa agrees with Dad: She’s happy as she is, especially since she’s discovering the disembodied state has its unique advantages. For one, she has discovered she’s mobile, and can drop in on anyone, any time. For another, she’s discovering some fascinating truths about her family; in her present state she finds she’s a sharper observer of people than she ever was in her former life. She isn’t at all convinced it’s a good idea to take that next big step into the fog of whatever might lie beyond. Why check out now just when life has become an adventure with no boundaries, whether it’s following her younger sisters on their bad dates or popping in on Mom just as she’s slipping into bed with the young doctor who’s trying to keep Melissa alive.

Tension tightens when her parents decide take the matter to court and let a judge decide her fate. Melissa, a desperate soul just trying to wedge her way back into her family again, watches the drama from above. By now she’s discovering that she can move small objects, thus giving her some real power in this scenario…

The author’s imagination shines through on every page; she has an uncanny ability to describe the near-indescribable. Through sheer prose skill, Melissa’s disembodied state — and how she adapts to it — are utterly convincing.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you ever

Read a book that you basically hated everyone in but you kept reading it anyway just to see how it turned out? That’s exactly how I felt about this one by the time I was just a little way into it. I don’t know exactly what the author intended here, but she managed to pack the most annoying bunch of characters into one family and then write a whole story about them. I did have some sympathy for the main character, who’s comatose but narrates the story from an omniscient viewpoint and seems to follow the rest around. She either did or didn’t intend to commit suicide, but there she lies in a hospital bed connected to machines, while her parents argue about whether or not to disconnect her ventilator and some interesting—some might say very odd—things happen along the way.

[Liz Burkhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Boring. Skimmed to the end.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should be listed as young adult...but it was still not a very good book.