THE CONSPIRACY KID

by E.P. Rose

A sonnet is penned and, lo, the Conspiracy Kid Fan Club is born. Beware. To read this sonnet is to join the Club. Membership is automatic and irreversible.
This is the story of the earliest unwitting Conspiracy Kid Fan Club members: Edwin Mars (poet), Joe Claude (billionaire), Walter Cornelius (werewolf), Muriel Cohen (chef),
to name but a few.

Or, as Edwin Mars, being a poet, puts it:

This is the story of Joe Claude and me,
And of my son and the sisters he loved,
And of their father, how he came to be
In a graveyard - naked and uni-gloved;
Hamburgers, hurricanes, murder and string,
Werewolves and waiters and barmen and cooks,
From Maine to Biloxi, Mayfair to Pring,
Furniture, ketamine, golfing and books;
Marriages made and broken and mended
Under the shadow of loved ones who died.
See how the grieving billionaire ended
Up in that prison where laughter’s proscribed.
Will he be rescued then? Read and find out
What The Conspiracy Kid’s all about.

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 9, 2012

About the author

E.P.Rose is the author of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF SEX AND SHOPPING and THE CONSPIRACY KID. He lives in London, England, with his restaurateur wife, various daughters and Frank, who is a dog.

Reviews

[melydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book that is easily summed up in a sentence or two. There's a billionaire and a couple of Yankophile British kids who open a diner and some mental patients and a golfer and a poet and an artist or two and Hurricane Katrina and you get the idea. Despite the vast number of characters, the story is reasonably easy to follow as long as you keep a "just go with it" mindset and avoid feeling too incredulous. Parts are quite clever and parts are thoroughly bizarre, but all in all it's kind of a fun change of pace. Most of the time these sorts of books just sort of end without a whole lot happening, but I was pleased to see a neatly tied-together ending that felt neither forced nor unsatisfying. If you're looking for litfic that's just a little different, give this a try.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely one of the most unusual books I have ever read. I really struggled between giving a "Pick it" or "Skip it" label for the review, but because it was, overall, such a quirky and fun plot once everything came together, I decided to endorse it. There are multiple story lines within this book that almost make it feel like a compilation of short stories. However, at the end all the characters and their stories manage to tie together (and I love when authors do this, hence the "Pick it" score). Each character has a very unique, usually funny plot of their own, so every chapter was unique which helped move the book along.

Even though I enjoyed the short story feel, it was also overwhelming at times to have so many different characters and stories to keep track of. You didn't know who was really important and how it would come together at all in the end so, initially, it was difficult to get invested. In fact there are so many different plots and characters going on in this book, that I'm impressed the author could create a synopsis for this story at all; I certainly struggled writing that first paragraph summary above. I also didn't understand a lot of this book. For some of this I can place the blame on myself; maybe if I knew a little more about poetry or old-time American movies or the blues, I would have understood some of the hipster banter and vibe, but it was beyond me. However, some things, like the point of the title, alluded me. There is no character that fills the role of the conspiracy kid. It's merely a club all the characters unwittingly join. Other than that, I don't see what the title has to do with anything in the story. I don't understand what a conspiracy kid is. I also see why there is a ball of yarn on the cover and a hamburger on the back since they are a part of the book, but because of the lack of a somewhat detailed synopsis, I totally thought this was a kids book about some elementary school version of the dead poets society or something ( until I reached the sex scenes and realized this was definitely not for kiddies).  I feel like the whole book, from cover to cover, and from the synopsis to the varied stories was very confusing.

So that paragraph above seems like a pretty big summary of the negatives compared to the positives. However, I still believe, confusion aside, that this is a commendable book. Everything comes together nicely in the end, but it was upsetting that it seemed to take a while for the fog to clear and for me to really see where this story was going. I also think there are people out there that might understand and enjoy the wit and banter of the author more than I was able to at some points. It's a really short read at 290 pages, so why not give it a try? It's certainly different.

*I received a free copy of this book for this review from the author.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

**A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.**

The Conspiracy Kid is one of those books, that after I had finished reading, spent quite a few days thinking about. I recently read the beginning again, just to get the relationships between characters straight in my mind. What I can say is that this book is a little hard to classify into a specific genre, other than contemporary humorous fiction, and I did find myself laughing out loud at various points. I also liked the fact that it was set in the UK, and as such, there was a lot of British humor in it which I really enjoyed. Most of the book is dialogue, and I could hear a lot of the character's accents in my mind.

I also thought the characters had very distinctive personalities, and were well developed. Out of all of them, the one that stood out the most in my opinion is Joe Claude, the billionaire, and that's based on his introduction at the beginning of the book, and everything that follows. I also liked Fergus, the Scottish chef at Muriel and Richard's restaurant Red, White, and Blues. I also liked Edwin, and his poem, The Conspiracy Kid Fan Club. That's where the title of the book comes from, and by the end of the novel, it makes a lot of sense.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. My rating is 4/5 Platypires.

[Ingrid Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edwin Mars writes a sonnet - Anyone who reads this sonnet is automatically enrolled in "The Conspiracy Kid Fan Club" and so this bizarre, but grammatically well-written novel begins. The Conspiracy Kid is one of the many books that I have been attempting to read on and off for a few months. The book charts the lives of, and brings together a group of dysfunctional people, none of which, I was able to really identify with, although I have absolutely no doubt that it will resonate with maybe a more "arty" reader. Iris is kind of interesting, although I found her spontaneous reactions to life's challenges jarring. Lionel Cohen definitely has potential, but is written in such an O.T.T. manner that I found my eyes glazing over. The chapters are tightly written and short, and in terms of "writing ability" I cannot fault the author. In terms of plot, and style, well, this just wasn't for me. I just didn't get the authors attempt at humour and the book is just too arty-farty - too "intelligent" for me!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent this book to review and absolutely loved it! Although there were many different characters to get to know, the author did a wonderful job of developing them all throughout the story. The book is divided into three different sections: fan club, hamburger, string. Throughout these sections, these characters, who seem independent of one another, slowly become closer and interact with each other. This is done through the use of a poem created by the character of Edwin Mars; the poem acts to bring these characters together and tell their stories. I especially loved the writing style of this novel; I loved the way in which the author seamlessly switched perspectives in the middle of the chapters. Great read, and I can't wait to check out more by this author!

For a more in-depth review, check out my new book blog, A Nook of Blankets and Books!
http://anookofblanketsandbooks.blogsp...

[Deanna at The Book Lover's Attic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. At first I found myself writing down the characters names and how they were linked. Some characters made brief appearances while others continued throughout the book. As the book progressed, it became easier to connect to the characters and the story flowed.

I struggled somewhat to find the poem/fan club's existence in the story. The poem is presented first thing, but not mentioned again until about midway through the book. It distracted me somewhat, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the myriad of characters offered here.

The writing style was simple and easy to follow even though the author would switch perspectives frequently. There is humor mixed with heartache, which made for great reading.

All in all this was a fun read and I would definitely recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

[WiLoveBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a different kind of read for me. There is a crazy cast of characters, most of whom are seemingly completely unrelated. As I was reading I was wondering how things would come together. I loved the witty humor. It is very British. I'm sure I missed some of the references, but that didn't really matter. It was entertaining. Not my usual kind of book with a main character who gets a happily ever after, but an enjoyable read. I was hooked right away, though I had no real idea what was going on. I had to keep reading it to figure it all out.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.freshcoffeeblog.com/2014/0...

[RYCJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dialogue centered fast-paced playful prose flirts with diversions so smoothly that it was tempting to get lost in the often humorous, curt conversations, losing sight of the unruly premises.