Destroying the Tangible Illusion of Reality; or, Searching for Andy Kaufman

by T. Fox Dunham

In this surreal road novel, Anthony searches for the father he’s never met: Andy Kaufman, the legendary song-and-dance man from the ‘70s. There’s a few problems here, of course. A) Andy Kaufman died in 1984, and B) Thanks to a recent cancer diagnosis, Anthony doesn’t have much longer to live, either. However, new evidence has come to light that questions whether or not Kaufman is actually dead. Could he be in hiding, after all these years? Anthony is determined to discover the truth before his own clock runs out. During his travels, he will encounter shameless medicine men, grifters, Walmart shoppers, the ghosts of Elvis and Warhol, and the Devil himself.

430 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2015

About the author

T. Fox Dunham is an American writer and author of three novels: The Street Martyr, Mercy and Destroying the Tangible Illusion of Reality, or Searching for Andy Kaufman. He’s a cancer survivor, editor and host/producer of What Are You Afraid Of? Horror & Paranormal Show.

At the age of 17, oncologists at the University of the Hospital of Pennsylvania diagnosed Fox with a rare type of blood cancer: composite lymphoma. He was treated with an aggressive regiment of chemotherapy and radiation. The treatment crippled him for life, and the constant pain plus the violation of the treatment inspired his horror medical thriller, Mercy.

"Dunham has channeled his many brushes with the other side into the exquisitely rendered, lyrical supernatural hospital thriller MERCY. 3.5 out of 4 Skulls." - FANGORIA

Fox is creator, producer & co-host of What Are You Afraid Of? Horror & Paranormal Show—a dark audio magazine in its fifth season on PARA-X Radio with 200,000 direct downloads on most major podcast services. The show plays narrated ghost stories, dark fiction, and Fox interviews such guests as Travel Channel’s Katrina Weidman, Heather Taddy, authors like Joe R Lansdale and filmmakers like Lloyd Kaufman. Find every episode and more at www.whatareyouafraidofpodcast.com.

Fox is the author of three novels and many published short stories featured in magazines and anthologies. Throughline Films is developing his first book The Street Martyr into a series.

Fox is an accomplished baker, cook, gardener, herbalist and angler. He’s editing a new charity anthology, Coming Through in Wave, based on the music of Pink Floyd for Gutter Books. Proceeds will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Reviews

[Frank Errington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Destroying the Tangible Illusion of Reality; or, Searching for Andy Kaufman is a book I won't soon forget. OK, I might forget the title, after all, it is a mouthful.

The story is a fictional expression of the author's life after being diagnosed with a rare combination of large cell lymphoma and Hodgkins. T. Fox Dunham was only the tenth person in the world to have this diagnosis. Thankfully, he's a survivor. His protagonist is not so lucky.

Destroying the Tangible Illusion of Reality; or, Searching for Andy Kaufman is filled with wonderfully offbeat characters. Anthony, diagnosed with cancer. Cynthia, his childhood friend who wants to be more. Tolya, a Mad Russian truck driver. Manhattan, who loves Anthony because he has death inside him.

The opening sequence had me gawking, wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into, but much like an accident at the side of the road, I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Great chapter titles, too, like "ELVIS DIED ON THE TOILET FOR OUR SINS" and "I DON"T BELIEVE IN HELL, JUST NEW JERSEY."

And then, there's the search for Andy Kaufman. If you're already familiar with the comic's legacy, I think you'll really enjoy what the writer has done with this. If you're not, the story is all there with some imaginative twists that could certainly be within the realm of possibility.

Part self expression, part surreal fantasy, part convoluted love story, and part road trip comedy. Dunham manages to intertwine it all into a cohesive and wacky read that might just might you think.

I wanted Destroying the Tangible Illusion of Reality; or, Searching for Andy Kaufman to be true, every word of it, but it can't be. But then? Makes you wonder, much like one of Andy Kaufman's bits.

Highly recommended and published by Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing, Destroying the Tangible Illusion of Reality; or, Searching for Andy Kaufman is available in both paperback and e-book formats.

T. Fox Dunham is an established author with several upcoming books and hundreds of short stories published in all mediums. His first novel, The Street Martyr is being made into a major motion picture by ThroughLine Films.

[G.G. Silverman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, loved this book. I wasn't an Andy Kaufman fan before, so the reason I picked up this book is because I subscribe to the publisher's newsletter and became intrigued by the author's personal journey of being a cancer survivor, and how writing this book was a transformative experience. So it was the author's personal story that intrigued me, and I'm glad I took a chance on his work.

At any rate, this weird book did not disappoint. A trippy fictional road trip story of searching for Andy Kaufman as the protagonist's potential father, it definitely had that Kaufmanesque quality of bending your perception of reality. The book kept me guessing, what is truth?

I loved this book so much I'm considering starting a club where I share this book around the world.
Though I'm crazy busy...please forgive me if I don't end up having the time. Some day...though...

Also, thanks to this book, I am now an Andy Kaufman fan. I will never see an Elvis impersonator the same way again. :)

ANDY LIVES!

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every word of this book! It is one of the most unique and reality bending books I have ever read. It has found it's way into my top ten with one reading. It will not be the last time I read it. I'm sure I missed a lot the first time through.

[T.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It's been a few years since I read it, but I still think about it now and then.

I would genuinely love to award five stars here, but there were some sections of the book where following the plot wasn't exactly as straightforward as it could have been. That said, it is a deliberately odd novel, so that is probably fitting with the Andy Kaufman theme.

Maybe I should read it again...

T. Fox Dunham is still one of my favourite authors, though I am much more accustomed to reading his short stories than his novels.

[KaryAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm fascinated with Andy Kaufman so was intrigued, but this is really just self-indulgent crap.

[Michael Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to a world where reality is tangible.

Our hero Anthony is dying, and he’s doing it a hell of a lot faster than everyone around him. He can’t stop it, but maybe he can have the chance to connect with the past that was denied to him before he takes the last bus to Jupiter. And he’ll have some help along the way from his friends – a sensitive playwright, a mad Russian, a woman in love with death, the King of Rock and Roll, and maybe even the Devil himself (who is very misunderstood).

T. Fox Dunham’s mad novel is many things: a rumination on death, a celebration of life, a meditation on the lies we tell ourselves, and the lies others tell us that we allow ourselves to believe. This is not a condemnation; the story seems to say that we’re all guilty of our deception – whether you’re a song-and-dance-man, a cancer patient, or even America herself. But if everyone believes you’re innocent, wouldn’t that make it so?

The story, in some ways, is an absurd and original take on the quintessentially American genre of the road novel, taking cues from your Jack Kerouacs and your Hunter S. Thompsons, complete with asides about the nature of the nation. In other ways, it’s a morality play – a warning, a plea to the reader – complete with a curtain falling.

And when the curtain of the final page falls, the characters will have grown and changed since the story began – but, more importantly, so too will you, the reader.

Read this novel. Read it bravely, read it madly, read it wildly – for reality is tangible, and is shaped by the brave, the mad, the wild.

[Rory Costello]

This is something that's happened only once before (with "The Least of My Scars" by Stephen Graham Jones). I will quote my review of that book almost verbatim: I don't think I can give this an accurate rating because it hasn't all soaked in. I respect the author's vision and craft, but I didn't particularly like the book, although it and its images will certainly stay with me. I may have to revisit it in time. It's really peculiar.