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Incognolio
When a strange title for a novel hijacks his mind, Muldoon traverses identities, planes of reality, and the dark recesses of his psyche in an effort to grasp the enigmatic Incognolio. Is he writing a story in which his stillborn twin sister has come to life, or is he the one who died at birth and it’s his sister who’s writing the novel? Guided only by the whims and dictates of his subconscious mind, Muldoon must finally face his demons and write his way to freedom or succumb to madness.
338 pages, Paperback
Published August 8, 2017
27 people are currently reading
747 people want to read
About the author
Michael B. Sussman
8 books68 followersAbandoned by a cackle of hyenas, Michael Sussman endured the drudgery and hardships of a Moldavian orphanage until fleeing with a traveling circus at the age of twelve. A promising career as a trapeze artist was cut short by a concussion that rendered him lame and mute. Sussman wandered the world, getting by on such odd jobs as pet-food tester, cheese sculptor, human scarecrow, and professional mourner while teaching himself the art of fiction. He now lives in Tahiti with Gauguin, an African Grey parrot.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 3, 2017
This book is a real kick in the head! I received a review copy of the book when I expressed interest in eccentric speculative and fantasy fiction, but this novel is a little outside all the categories I can summon! Sussman throws loops and loops of narrative around the reader, like a set of switchbacks climbing up a mountain grade where you constantly see the loop you just hiked below you but the perspective keeps changing. The novel has not just "untrustworthy" but also "unstable" narrators, narrators who suddenly turn into characters and...characters who turn into narrators.
The author invokes two of my favorite authors early in the book, Italo Calvino and William Faulkner (specifically As I Lay Dying which is quite relevant where the narrative technique is concerned). Later he invokes Kafka, Roland Barthes, James Joyce, and a few others--but don't fear, this is not really a literary novel. It is a send up or a satire, or a satire of a send up, of post modernist solipsistic self reflective experimental fiction. Maybe this needs its own cateogory, like post-post-modernism or ex-post-facto noir anti-romanticism. I give up on that. Anyway, I'm giving my copy to friends to read and review as well, and you should not miss this one, especially if you like deep belly-laughs from your fiction and a modern vaudevillean sensibility. Another favorite of mine, reviewed somewhere nearby, comes to mind: Flann O'Brien or is it Brian O'Nolan? Something about flipping the bird to all narrative conventions that interests me.
The author invokes two of my favorite authors early in the book, Italo Calvino and William Faulkner (specifically As I Lay Dying which is quite relevant where the narrative technique is concerned). Later he invokes Kafka, Roland Barthes, James Joyce, and a few others--but don't fear, this is not really a literary novel. It is a send up or a satire, or a satire of a send up, of post modernist solipsistic self reflective experimental fiction. Maybe this needs its own cateogory, like post-post-modernism or ex-post-facto noir anti-romanticism. I give up on that. Anyway, I'm giving my copy to friends to read and review as well, and you should not miss this one, especially if you like deep belly-laughs from your fiction and a modern vaudevillean sensibility. Another favorite of mine, reviewed somewhere nearby, comes to mind: Flann O'Brien or is it Brian O'Nolan? Something about flipping the bird to all narrative conventions that interests me.
August 12, 2017
Incognolio, is a seriously-funny, hilariously-dramatic novel which follows an author in search of a story, displaying the advantages and misgivings of being a writer.
Michael Sussman tells us on page sixty-two, paragraph five. “It’s the story of a man who tries to liberate himself by writing a novel in which he gives his subconscious mind free rein.”
Utilizing the Quantum-physics theory of parallel planes of existence, the book’s main characters morph from one alternate-state to the next, creating a drug-heightened whimsy where past, present and future all meld into one.
Sussman paints atmosphere in his own way. The underlying dilemma of, Good and Evil, being necessary counterparts to progress, flows through the story—
Did I just say “Story”? The Author repeatedly tells us there isn’t one. A clever device to encourage the reader to find their own.
Incongnolio arrived in the post while doing a final edit on my new book. Normally, wild horses can’t drag me away from the keyboard when I’m in that space—but a parrot named Yiddle, did. In a rare reading experience, I couldn’t put the damn thing down!
Incognolio is full of well rounded corners and square-circles: Joyce-like invented words, with plots and sub-plots that come and go as they please. The book has depth and its fun—a rare combination. I highly recommend this book to readers in search of fresh air.
Michael Sussman tells us on page sixty-two, paragraph five. “It’s the story of a man who tries to liberate himself by writing a novel in which he gives his subconscious mind free rein.”
Utilizing the Quantum-physics theory of parallel planes of existence, the book’s main characters morph from one alternate-state to the next, creating a drug-heightened whimsy where past, present and future all meld into one.
Sussman paints atmosphere in his own way. The underlying dilemma of, Good and Evil, being necessary counterparts to progress, flows through the story—
Did I just say “Story”? The Author repeatedly tells us there isn’t one. A clever device to encourage the reader to find their own.
Incongnolio arrived in the post while doing a final edit on my new book. Normally, wild horses can’t drag me away from the keyboard when I’m in that space—but a parrot named Yiddle, did. In a rare reading experience, I couldn’t put the damn thing down!
Incognolio is full of well rounded corners and square-circles: Joyce-like invented words, with plots and sub-plots that come and go as they please. The book has depth and its fun—a rare combination. I highly recommend this book to readers in search of fresh air.
September 30, 2017
I had to laugh when I finished reading this. My Kindle brought up a list of "Other books like Incognolio".
Let me assure you there are are no other books like this.
Micheal Sussman has crafted what should be all rights be an incoherent stream of consciousness into a story that may or may not go somewhere, depending on your point of view. Some people will hate this book, others will see it for the collection of satirical writer's in-jokes it is. And, the jokes abound, from making ink a drug, to the deliberately heavy-handed metaphor of incest as self-love, to the conceit of the writer appearing as a character. Sussman makes the characters so self-referential that the reader has to become a creator in imagining what the characters should do.
This book is so unusual it is unlikely to be popular, but I suspect it will have a cult following for decades to come.
Let me assure you there are are no other books like this.
Micheal Sussman has crafted what should be all rights be an incoherent stream of consciousness into a story that may or may not go somewhere, depending on your point of view. Some people will hate this book, others will see it for the collection of satirical writer's in-jokes it is. And, the jokes abound, from making ink a drug, to the deliberately heavy-handed metaphor of incest as self-love, to the conceit of the writer appearing as a character. Sussman makes the characters so self-referential that the reader has to become a creator in imagining what the characters should do.
This book is so unusual it is unlikely to be popular, but I suspect it will have a cult following for decades to come.
June 24, 2019
Someone I know was sent a copy of Michael Sussman's book Incognolio, and I read it. In two days. It is a giddy book that lacks every conventional book-writing rule. It is dizzying and disorienting. Which is precisely why Incognolio is such an interesting and appealing book! It is uncomfortable and disturbing...in a pleasant way. It is funny, and silly, dramatic, and ingenious. The story takes sharp turns as it swings back and forth from different points of view, and just as you get comfortable with it, the plot changes. You feel compelled to read on to unravel the mystery, keeping you hooked right until the very last word. I loved it! Thumbs up for Michael Sussman, although I don't trust a word he says, especially about his being "abandoned by a cackle of laughing hyenas". :)
And wait a minute: I think he is Muldoon!
And wait a minute: I think he is Muldoon!
January 12, 2018
Incognolio? It is not a thing. Or it is a thing, originless, that inspired the author, Michael Sussman (whoever that is?). Incognolio is a comic and psychological novel invented by Sussman’s multiple protagonists, or composed half by you, dear reader, if the author has his way. Following no formal dramatic structure, Incognolio, at its least perplexing, is a search for meaning, with meaning having deputized a variety of representatives passing with the nomenclature Incognolio.
At occasions in the novel incognolio is: a covert CIA investigation into people losing the ability to think rationally, a terrycloth headband allowing its wearer to rid themself of the myth of free will, the koan of an austerity cult, the quest of a technologically-advanced alien race who lack spiritual fulfillment, the titles of several novels within the novel being written by feuding authors, a psychedelic drug, a password, a lock combination, a cryptophasic language between twins, and the voice of an all-embracing maternal deity. The point being, incognolio not only resides in the realm of imagination, but also is imagination itself.
A review of a more orthodox novel would attempt to summarize the plot. Your obedient reviewer is not certain of the value of that approach. Incognolio starts humorous and metafictive enough with a protagonist writing a novel titled Incognolio. The protagonist struggles with several dead end crime subplots depicted simultaneously as narrative action in which he is engaged and subject matter he is composing in real time. The subplots, frequently hilarious, occasionally violent or morally problematic, are abandoned. Control of the novel is transferred among the protagonist's villainous ghostwriter, his living or dead twin sister, an uncle from another dimension, the devil, God, and finally, after the protagonist is killed, to the character of a troubled writer named Sussman. Are you still with me? It is at this point Sussman’s stream of conscious writing begins to reach its true destination.
Dimension jumping and incognolio monikered MacGuffins are sufficiently intriguing until we arrive at a denouement stripped of false-start narrators and red herrings. When the author walks us out on a high, windy bridge to describe the forthcoming suicide of Sussman things get real. The reader discovers that all the narrators and abandoned subplots have been a series of screens intended to obscure the dysphoria of a persona – Author? Protagonist? We can’t say. – who is crippled by grief, failure, mental illness, rejection, and existential anomie. Like the book editor character brought in to fix the novel tells Sussman, “Despite its playfulness, your story’s a tragedy.” (Emphasis added.) Perhaps rowing merrily down the stream of conscious, searching for the meaning of a meaningless word, and peering into as many holes as it takes to fill the Albert Hall took the author to a much different creative plane then the one in which he began. Incognolio is a plotless novel, but it has a compelling emotional arc, and the ending transcends the middle.
The last scenes also happen to display the author’s most effective prose. The book editor critiques, “The author seeks union with himself. To achieve this integration, to cross that threshold into the dark and uncharted recesses of his subconscious, the Author would need to be willing to embrace his monsters, including the source of his self-loathing…The tragedy is that he can’t face his monsters, can’t find a strategy for confronting the things he’s most afraid of. Unable to successfully complete the novel, he self-destructs.” So, Incognolio, after many failed tests, is a laboratory inquiry into the emotional tension of the creative process.
The theoretician Andre Breton defined surrealism as, “Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express the actual functioning of thought…in the absence of any control exercised by reason exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.” Incognolio is both hard to read and hard not to read, because Sussman provides the amusing lies of his surreal dreamworld at a breathless pace, until the reader is exposed to a truth. The truth being that this dream has, in its way, been a controlled nightmare.
At occasions in the novel incognolio is: a covert CIA investigation into people losing the ability to think rationally, a terrycloth headband allowing its wearer to rid themself of the myth of free will, the koan of an austerity cult, the quest of a technologically-advanced alien race who lack spiritual fulfillment, the titles of several novels within the novel being written by feuding authors, a psychedelic drug, a password, a lock combination, a cryptophasic language between twins, and the voice of an all-embracing maternal deity. The point being, incognolio not only resides in the realm of imagination, but also is imagination itself.
A review of a more orthodox novel would attempt to summarize the plot. Your obedient reviewer is not certain of the value of that approach. Incognolio starts humorous and metafictive enough with a protagonist writing a novel titled Incognolio. The protagonist struggles with several dead end crime subplots depicted simultaneously as narrative action in which he is engaged and subject matter he is composing in real time. The subplots, frequently hilarious, occasionally violent or morally problematic, are abandoned. Control of the novel is transferred among the protagonist's villainous ghostwriter, his living or dead twin sister, an uncle from another dimension, the devil, God, and finally, after the protagonist is killed, to the character of a troubled writer named Sussman. Are you still with me? It is at this point Sussman’s stream of conscious writing begins to reach its true destination.
Dimension jumping and incognolio monikered MacGuffins are sufficiently intriguing until we arrive at a denouement stripped of false-start narrators and red herrings. When the author walks us out on a high, windy bridge to describe the forthcoming suicide of Sussman things get real. The reader discovers that all the narrators and abandoned subplots have been a series of screens intended to obscure the dysphoria of a persona – Author? Protagonist? We can’t say. – who is crippled by grief, failure, mental illness, rejection, and existential anomie. Like the book editor character brought in to fix the novel tells Sussman, “Despite its playfulness, your story’s a tragedy.” (Emphasis added.) Perhaps rowing merrily down the stream of conscious, searching for the meaning of a meaningless word, and peering into as many holes as it takes to fill the Albert Hall took the author to a much different creative plane then the one in which he began. Incognolio is a plotless novel, but it has a compelling emotional arc, and the ending transcends the middle.
The last scenes also happen to display the author’s most effective prose. The book editor critiques, “The author seeks union with himself. To achieve this integration, to cross that threshold into the dark and uncharted recesses of his subconscious, the Author would need to be willing to embrace his monsters, including the source of his self-loathing…The tragedy is that he can’t face his monsters, can’t find a strategy for confronting the things he’s most afraid of. Unable to successfully complete the novel, he self-destructs.” So, Incognolio, after many failed tests, is a laboratory inquiry into the emotional tension of the creative process.
The theoretician Andre Breton defined surrealism as, “Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express the actual functioning of thought…in the absence of any control exercised by reason exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.” Incognolio is both hard to read and hard not to read, because Sussman provides the amusing lies of his surreal dreamworld at a breathless pace, until the reader is exposed to a truth. The truth being that this dream has, in its way, been a controlled nightmare.
August 23, 2017
Incognolio is presented initially as an affliction which confuses people and makes it difficult for them to think logically, but as Michael Sussman’s novel moves on, it develops into a variety of guises seeming to culminate as the very essence of good – the opposite of Mazazel, which appears to be the embodiment of evil. Incognolio is a novel written by a number of imaginary authors, starting with Muldoon who launches a narrative driven by his subconscious, and dealing with good and bad in a variety of guises, mostly fraternal twins. In separate but interconnected tales, the relationships of the twins are examined. From the torment of being the only survivor at birth to a close, but platonic relationship, to overtly sexual relationships between both opposite and same sex twins. The narrative contains no clear plot line, though a parrot called Yiddle appears from time to time with an observation or two. The authorship of the novel switches to a number of imaginary individuals who struggle to complete the story, developing some explicitly sexual situations along with some darker, infernal passages of torture and suffering along the way.
Incognolio is an intriguing journey through the dark passages of Michael Sussman’s psyche. Characters like Pizza Delivery Guy and Lazlo Skuntch spring into being to play a brief part on a fast-revolving stage, only to disappear again into the general melee of an ever-changing plot line. One would imagine that a novel of this nature would be challenging to read but this is not the case. In spite of the complexity of the convoluted narrative it is refreshingly readable, though one is left wondering at the end of the book what it is all about. I suspect however that this is entirely deliberate. Amusing, distressing, exciting, erotic, and scary at times, Incognolio is an impressive work of fiction which is difficult to pigeonhole or classify.
Incognolio is an intriguing journey through the dark passages of Michael Sussman’s psyche. Characters like Pizza Delivery Guy and Lazlo Skuntch spring into being to play a brief part on a fast-revolving stage, only to disappear again into the general melee of an ever-changing plot line. One would imagine that a novel of this nature would be challenging to read but this is not the case. In spite of the complexity of the convoluted narrative it is refreshingly readable, though one is left wondering at the end of the book what it is all about. I suspect however that this is entirely deliberate. Amusing, distressing, exciting, erotic, and scary at times, Incognolio is an impressive work of fiction which is difficult to pigeonhole or classify.
August 7, 2017
Entering the pages of Michael Sussman’s inexplicable – category-wise – brilliantly-executed experimental novel, Icognolio is less like walking through a dream than it is like mentally traversing the ingenious daydreaming path of a highly imaginative, psychologically-aware writer who is creating an inner epic from the images produced by streams of self-conscious meditation. Yes, it is that immediate. The book itself is crazy; crazy cool. Need an example? “Because I possess the Faloosh,” she replies, employing what is in all likelihood another of my made-up words. “It enables me to intuit the entire backstory of any novel in which I appear as a character.” Any attempt to describe the plotline of this book would be arbitrary at best. Still, it is a miracle of inspired effort that Sussman creates such a marvelous coherency to his story – as fractured, unstable, and tenuous as it is. And there is humor. Lots of funny stuff delivered with the offhand manner of a master comic’s best throw-away lines.
Icognolio is intelligent and wry, and securely at home in the surreal insecurity of the self-reflective mind. Dreams do not make good books. Insanity, however, does. Especially the insanity of a writer like Michael Sussman, who seemingly retains a most convivial relationship with the madness of the normal mind. Because that is what Mr. Sussman makes the reader feel: that all those sudden reality shifts, those changes of incidental characters, those displacements of locale and occupation – all are nothing more than the powerful experiences of one who pays attention to this little thing called life. But it is the author’s genuine creative skills that make his through-the-looking-glass words so entangled and enticing, and makes of his wonderful experiment such a grand success.
Icognolio is intelligent and wry, and securely at home in the surreal insecurity of the self-reflective mind. Dreams do not make good books. Insanity, however, does. Especially the insanity of a writer like Michael Sussman, who seemingly retains a most convivial relationship with the madness of the normal mind. Because that is what Mr. Sussman makes the reader feel: that all those sudden reality shifts, those changes of incidental characters, those displacements of locale and occupation – all are nothing more than the powerful experiences of one who pays attention to this little thing called life. But it is the author’s genuine creative skills that make his through-the-looking-glass words so entangled and enticing, and makes of his wonderful experiment such a grand success.
October 14, 2018
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Incognolio
Author: Michael Sussman
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 16
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Content: 10/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 16 readers:
16 would read another book by this author.
16 thought the cover was good or excellent.
16 felt it was easy to follow.
16 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
12 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
15 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
16 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
‘Such a cleverly written book. I was intrigued from the start.’ Male reader, aged 43
‘Rather funny in parts, this author is a sublime writer who will keep the reader guessing until the very end. Wrapped in a wonderful cover, this is a top-notch modern novel.’ Female reader, aged 52
‘Strong imagery and a surreal plot.’ Female reader, aged 65
‘Lively, full-formed characters is the winning formula for this sort of crazy story. Trying to work out what is real and what is not is absorbing.’ Female reader, aged 72
‘This is not your typical modern novel. The formula is highly original. I loved it. Many, I suspect, might hate it. Is there a plot? Yes, sort of. The trick is to keep going. You will get into it, and it is worth your time.’ Male reader, aged 68
To Sum It Up:
‘A fascinating story, very surreal and always original. A finalist and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Title: Incognolio
Author: Michael Sussman
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 16
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Content: 10/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 16 readers:
16 would read another book by this author.
16 thought the cover was good or excellent.
16 felt it was easy to follow.
16 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
12 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
15 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
16 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
‘Such a cleverly written book. I was intrigued from the start.’ Male reader, aged 43
‘Rather funny in parts, this author is a sublime writer who will keep the reader guessing until the very end. Wrapped in a wonderful cover, this is a top-notch modern novel.’ Female reader, aged 52
‘Strong imagery and a surreal plot.’ Female reader, aged 65
‘Lively, full-formed characters is the winning formula for this sort of crazy story. Trying to work out what is real and what is not is absorbing.’ Female reader, aged 72
‘This is not your typical modern novel. The formula is highly original. I loved it. Many, I suspect, might hate it. Is there a plot? Yes, sort of. The trick is to keep going. You will get into it, and it is worth your time.’ Male reader, aged 68
To Sum It Up:
‘A fascinating story, very surreal and always original. A finalist and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
August 11, 2017
Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite
Incognolio by Michael Sussman is a literary fiction novel that would appeal most to a diverse audience of mature young adults and adults who enjoy psychological thrillers with elements of mystery, magic, and science fiction, and who do not mind explicit language, sexual situations, and graphic violence. Muldoon is the narrator of the novel and has an acute injury to his brain according to his neurosurgeon, Dr. Noggin, who cautions against writing Incognolio because the brain injury has made it difficult for him to organize and plan effectively, which would lead to a disorderly plot. Yet, Muldoon does not desire an orderly plot; instead he prefers to share his dealings with the cult, the epidemic, and the mind controlling headband in his own words without regard to conventional organization.
Incognolio by Michael Sussman was unlike any book I have ever read before and, at first, I thought I would hate its lack of organization, but it quickly grew on me as I tried to keep up with Muldoon. In the first couple of chapters, I tried to keep track of what was delusion and what was reality, but then I realized that it did not really matter as knowing did not stop me from enjoying Muldoon’s experiences. The headband that removed free will was, without a doubt, one of my favorites as it reminded me of a Doctor Who episode. Overall, I enjoyed this unique style of writing that avoided all conventional writing styles and instead just went above and beyond the expected norm!
Incognolio by Michael Sussman is a literary fiction novel that would appeal most to a diverse audience of mature young adults and adults who enjoy psychological thrillers with elements of mystery, magic, and science fiction, and who do not mind explicit language, sexual situations, and graphic violence. Muldoon is the narrator of the novel and has an acute injury to his brain according to his neurosurgeon, Dr. Noggin, who cautions against writing Incognolio because the brain injury has made it difficult for him to organize and plan effectively, which would lead to a disorderly plot. Yet, Muldoon does not desire an orderly plot; instead he prefers to share his dealings with the cult, the epidemic, and the mind controlling headband in his own words without regard to conventional organization.
Incognolio by Michael Sussman was unlike any book I have ever read before and, at first, I thought I would hate its lack of organization, but it quickly grew on me as I tried to keep up with Muldoon. In the first couple of chapters, I tried to keep track of what was delusion and what was reality, but then I realized that it did not really matter as knowing did not stop me from enjoying Muldoon’s experiences. The headband that removed free will was, without a doubt, one of my favorites as it reminded me of a Doctor Who episode. Overall, I enjoyed this unique style of writing that avoided all conventional writing styles and instead just went above and beyond the expected norm!
November 16, 2017
I never thought I would finish a book where my first thoughts were, wow, that was weird! Incognolio draws the reader into the hilariously twisted subconscious mind of struggling author Muldoon, who, broke and desperate, decides to let his inner mind loose on his latest novel in a bid to write a best seller. However, in doing so he opens a huge can of worms as he is forced to face his own inner demons. Incognolio opens up a whole new world for the reader, it is heart-warmingly funny (I did laugh out loud a few times - prompting a few odd looks), disturbingly dark, tragic and a little taboo in places. Multiple protagonists in multiple realities are expertly handled, and lead the reader on a twisting and turning journey of endless questions - who is the author? Who is the protagonist? What is the truth? Will we ever really know? It's a literary rollercoaster that will lead you to question your own reality - is what we are experiencing day to day actually real? Or do we simply make it up as we go along? If that is the case, are we really in charge of our own destiny? A brilliantly written, fabulously unique and utterly absorbing novel, I couldn't put it down! Sussman writes in such a way that piques the interest, you just need to know what happens next in the never ending mystery of Incognolio......
Five stars! Definitely recommended, especially if you are a fan of 'Quirky'.
Five stars! Definitely recommended, especially if you are a fan of 'Quirky'.
June 18, 2019
Incognolio is one of its kind book .It really transcends everything that a book has - a beginning, a protagonist and an end.
An unconventional book and a narration that had me in splits because of its sparkling inherent humor and drove me crazy as I struggled to keep pace with changing story lines, references and existential planes with rapidly changing narratives and characters and a world that is make believe in one moment and a wild fantasy of incest and persecution the other moment.
The one thing that was sure about Incognolio is that you cannot put down the book, it is a compulsive read.
You would either love it and race to the end or you would hate it and quit after the first six chapters trying to unsuccessfully make some sense of the free reigning creation of Michael Sussman.
An unconventional book and a narration that had me in splits because of its sparkling inherent humor and drove me crazy as I struggled to keep pace with changing story lines, references and existential planes with rapidly changing narratives and characters and a world that is make believe in one moment and a wild fantasy of incest and persecution the other moment.
The one thing that was sure about Incognolio is that you cannot put down the book, it is a compulsive read.
You would either love it and race to the end or you would hate it and quit after the first six chapters trying to unsuccessfully make some sense of the free reigning creation of Michael Sussman.
November 28, 2017
You know that classic Looney Tunes trope where Wile E. Coyote unzips his skin, only to reveal the road runner ... who unzips his skin to reveal a police officer ... who unzips his skin to reveal the shaggy watchdog? That's what this novel is, but with the welcome addition of heart and thematic elements that (more or less) tie it together.
I had a blast reading this book. Downed it in just two days, which is a telling sign for me. It's laugh-out-loud funny in parts, marginally serious and tragic in some other parts, and completely absurd in between. Real well-written too, to keep all the nonsense feeling fresh the whole way through.
I had a blast reading this book. Downed it in just two days, which is a telling sign for me. It's laugh-out-loud funny in parts, marginally serious and tragic in some other parts, and completely absurd in between. Real well-written too, to keep all the nonsense feeling fresh the whole way through.
August 28, 2017
I must admit that this is one of the strangest books I have ever read. If you want to keep guessing about who is real? Who is the author? What and when is it? or other unexplained and often strange plot lines and plot twists, some with and some without endings, then this book is right up your alley. If you are looking for a normal book of fiction to read, this is NOT it. But, this book will make you ask yourself some very interesting questions about your own life if you let it. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
September 26, 2017
Incognolio was a funny, light-hearted, story about an author who is stuck in an unrealistic narrative of a book he is writing. At points in the story the author isn't sure if he is writing the story or if he is just a character trying to solve the mystery of incognolio.
I started to read the book just before bed with the intention of reading just a chapter or two, but I couldn't put the book down until I was done.
It's a great book for someone looking for something light-hearted and humorous.
Thanks to the author who gave me this book in exchange for a review.
I started to read the book just before bed with the intention of reading just a chapter or two, but I couldn't put the book down until I was done.
It's a great book for someone looking for something light-hearted and humorous.
Thanks to the author who gave me this book in exchange for a review.
September 15, 2017
Great read! Teller from Penn & Teller Tweeted about Sussman's book and said it best: "A novel or a carnival mirror maze? I don't know, but I'm more than halfway through and having a blast." Get it and enjoy!
June 23, 2019
Received a complimentary copy of this novel through Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.
Wow what a weird but thrilling story. It all centres round Muldoon a struggling author or does it? The tale descends through layer after layer of compelling but twisted versions of the same story. Just when you think you have sussed out what’s going on the author throws a curve ball and off we go in another direction.
If you’re looking for nice fictional story then this is not for you as the many twists and turns leave you wondering who and what is actually real and in fact who writing about who as you fall “inception” like through to the end of the book.
Wow what a weird but thrilling story. It all centres round Muldoon a struggling author or does it? The tale descends through layer after layer of compelling but twisted versions of the same story. Just when you think you have sussed out what’s going on the author throws a curve ball and off we go in another direction.
If you’re looking for nice fictional story then this is not for you as the many twists and turns leave you wondering who and what is actually real and in fact who writing about who as you fall “inception” like through to the end of the book.
September 6, 2017
Sometimes you read something and you're not sure if it's a work of genius or just a complete mishmash of half ideas smooshed together. It's a bit like Inception but with umpteen more layers and instead of dreams within dreams it's a case of who is the author and who are the fictional characters and is there actually a separation between them? There is a point about halfway through the book when the character who, at that point, is thought to be the author goes to a writers group where someone else in the groups says that they feel the story is too convoluted and confusing with too many subplots and changes in direction, which is how I felt at that point. However, I stuck with it and pretty much had my head wrapped around it by the end. If this intrigues you then I would say give it a go, but don't put it down for too long as you might get a bit lost as to where you were with it.
May 7, 2018
Head trip!
This book was the biggest head trip I've ever been on. It was for sure entertainment and one off a kind. I'm not sure if it is insane or genius.
This book was the biggest head trip I've ever been on. It was for sure entertainment and one off a kind. I'm not sure if it is insane or genius.
August 31, 2021
I just... What
I don't even think I can write a review of this, because it was so different than any other form of media I have ever consumed.
Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and it will certainly stick with me, but it's a journey that you should go into knowing as little as possible, just like I did.
If you're reading reviews, hoping this enigma of letters is worth your time, it is, but be prepared to embrace the insanity.
Pros:
- The Stream of consciousness style it uses worked incredible for this book. It never felt slow or dull, and I attribute a lot of that to the writing itself. It felt 'chaotically intentional', which I loved
- M E T A
- Lots of relatable things in it for anyone who aspires to write
Cons:
- Some of the weird sex stuff I wasn't a fan of. I get why its there, but eh - Not huge on it in my books, even if it is thematically relevant
I don't even think I can write a review of this, because it was so different than any other form of media I have ever consumed.
Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and it will certainly stick with me, but it's a journey that you should go into knowing as little as possible, just like I did.
If you're reading reviews, hoping this enigma of letters is worth your time, it is, but be prepared to embrace the insanity.
Pros:
- The Stream of consciousness style it uses worked incredible for this book. It never felt slow or dull, and I attribute a lot of that to the writing itself. It felt 'chaotically intentional', which I loved
- M E T A
- Lots of relatable things in it for anyone who aspires to write
Cons:
- Some of the weird sex stuff I wasn't a fan of. I get why its there, but eh - Not huge on it in my books, even if it is thematically relevant
June 1, 2018
Incognolio was quit the ride of a book. Right from the get go we're thrown into a story where we wonder is this the writer, Muldoon, string of thoughts as he's writing or is this the way Muldoon see's the world after his concussion. It took me a few chapters to really get the flow of this story but it's a quirky story with humor sprinkled into this rollercoaster of a story. This is not a quick, light read but if you are looking for something that is different, something that will bend your minds way of thinking, something that will at times make you laugh... than you should give Incognolio a go!
I was given an advanced copy of this book for my 100% honest opinion.
I was given an advanced copy of this book for my 100% honest opinion.
June 27, 2019
I received a review copy of this passport to Bizzaro World from For Voracious Readers Only. This one should come with a warning .label ."If this book makes sense to you,you are either not drunk enough , or , too drunk to be reading this! " Sussman gleefully breaks every rule they teach in creative writing class, and takes the reader on a no - holds-barred no - stone - unturned romp through the very witty subconcious of an aspiring novelist who may, or may NOT be suffering a guilt complex because he did or did not murder his twin. Humorous nods to Stephen King and Thomas Tryon abound,as do puns, riddles , and potty jokes. Not for the faint of heart, but great fun!
September 24, 2020
I was disappointed with this book given the good reviews I’d seen, I just couldn’t connect with the story. Even appreciating the inception style writing I found I just couldn’t keep track which frustrated rather than liberated me. Within that style I still felt bits were mashed together for the sake of adding more complexity. I was really lost at the beginning, then understood what was happening as the story progressed, but I still felt I was waiting for the other shoe to drop which it never did (for me). Clearly others felt very differently, but it just wasn’t the book for me.
*I received a complimentary copy of the e-book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
*I received a complimentary copy of the e-book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
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