What do you think?
Rate this book
ZAP: Confessions of a Channel Changer
Dr. Heinrich Gautier, former Director, Psychiatric Services, Lilac Hills Institute, has released the journal written by Simon P while undergoing intensive non-interventionist therapy. He may be criticised by some colleagues for releasing the journal, but that is a risk he is prepared to take because he believes it is vital that others learn from all that transpired during the time that Simon P spent in therapeutic care. He wants others to see how, given little more than a self-appropriate medium and minimal guidance, clients can use intensive non-interventionist therapy to jolt themselves out of memory lapses, denial and psychological barriers that inhibit the process of self-understanding, and can then move forward into the process of self-awareness and, in an ideal world, self-healing. The journal contains explicit and implicit scenes of violence and sexual content; it is not for the faint of heart. Reader discretion is advised.
Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2012
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 16, 2014
Considering I give the book 5 stars, this first line might seem strange: The book is not for everybody. In fact, it might not be for most people.
Zap is a dark, daring and disturbing book, with surprising flashes of humor and an intriguing journal narrative style. The writing is solid, with occasional poetic brilliance. The climax feels surprisingly peaceful, almost inevitable, given the circumstances of the narrator (in an institution for the criminally insane, undergoing therapy). But then the denouement hits you like an unexpected tsunami. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you do not fear the dark side, this is a must read. The main character is in a psychiatric hospital undergoing a unique form of therapy — journal writing therapy (should appeal to any writer). He’s told to put down whatever comes up. At first, not a heck of a lot comes up. But then as he writes deeper, so to speak, a disturbing past emerges. The past is counterpoint with the narrator’s present conditions and observations. The book is written in short bursts. The fractured style reflects the state of mind of the main character. Again, I thought it a powerful read, but I admit it’s not for everybody.
Available in the US:
http://www.amazon.com/Zap-Confessions...
Available in Canada:
http://www.amazon.ca/Zap-Confessions-...
I admit, I was curious if my thoughts were out of sync with others, so I went to Amazon to see if the book has any reviews and found this:
This book takes you straight into the mind of a mentally ill man who is convicted in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend. He never speaks a word in the courtroom or to anyone else since the murder and is put into a mental ward for review. Every word he writes to his psychiatrist, which is part of the therapy since he won't speak, draws the reader deep inside his mind. He is the finished product of a sexually abused child. The abuse is unimaginable, especially towards the end of the book you start to understand why he is what he is. He wrote for 2 weeks before he saw his doctor again which you will find out at the end it should have been maybe a week at the most. But I think that being as detailed in his writing as he was, the reader was actually able feel his confusion the more he remembered the dark secrets he had buried. I think this type of therapy would only work on someone who actually likes to write, which he did. But that's just my opinion after finishing the book. If you like psychology or psychiatry and seeing how the mind acts under bazzare circumstances this story will take you there. It took me a while to figure out why he titled his writing "Zap: Confessions of a Channel Changer" but it does fit in a strangely, perverse way. What can you expect! This material is rated R for language and sexual content.
Zap is a dark, daring and disturbing book, with surprising flashes of humor and an intriguing journal narrative style. The writing is solid, with occasional poetic brilliance. The climax feels surprisingly peaceful, almost inevitable, given the circumstances of the narrator (in an institution for the criminally insane, undergoing therapy). But then the denouement hits you like an unexpected tsunami. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you do not fear the dark side, this is a must read. The main character is in a psychiatric hospital undergoing a unique form of therapy — journal writing therapy (should appeal to any writer). He’s told to put down whatever comes up. At first, not a heck of a lot comes up. But then as he writes deeper, so to speak, a disturbing past emerges. The past is counterpoint with the narrator’s present conditions and observations. The book is written in short bursts. The fractured style reflects the state of mind of the main character. Again, I thought it a powerful read, but I admit it’s not for everybody.
Available in the US:
http://www.amazon.com/Zap-Confessions...
Available in Canada:
http://www.amazon.ca/Zap-Confessions-...
I admit, I was curious if my thoughts were out of sync with others, so I went to Amazon to see if the book has any reviews and found this:
This book takes you straight into the mind of a mentally ill man who is convicted in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend. He never speaks a word in the courtroom or to anyone else since the murder and is put into a mental ward for review. Every word he writes to his psychiatrist, which is part of the therapy since he won't speak, draws the reader deep inside his mind. He is the finished product of a sexually abused child. The abuse is unimaginable, especially towards the end of the book you start to understand why he is what he is. He wrote for 2 weeks before he saw his doctor again which you will find out at the end it should have been maybe a week at the most. But I think that being as detailed in his writing as he was, the reader was actually able feel his confusion the more he remembered the dark secrets he had buried. I think this type of therapy would only work on someone who actually likes to write, which he did. But that's just my opinion after finishing the book. If you like psychology or psychiatry and seeing how the mind acts under bazzare circumstances this story will take you there. It took me a while to figure out why he titled his writing "Zap: Confessions of a Channel Changer" but it does fit in a strangely, perverse way. What can you expect! This material is rated R for language and sexual content.
Displaying 1 of 1 review