Exit Papers from Paradise

by Liam Card

Frustrated thirty-five-year-old plumber Isaac Sullivan believes he has both the intellect and skill to be a surgeon. Forced to take over his father's plumbing business straight out of high school, Isaac's had dreams of attending the University of Michigan that fell by the wayside. However, the unfortunate setback didn't stop him entirely. For the past decade, he has absorbed every medical textbook and journal available to him. For practical experience, Isaac performs surgeries on the wildlife around his house, preparing for the day he attends Michigan.

Yet the years continue to pass and Isaac remains stuck in Paradise, Michigan, as a plumber. That is, until this year, when an event pushes him to apply as an undergraduate for the first time. Exit Papers from Paradise is about the gap between the person we are and the person we desperately want to be.

Genres: Fiction

Audiobook

First published October 6, 2012

Reviews

[J.T. Therrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Exit Papers, I'm adding Liam Card to my "Must Read Author" list! Although the ending to Exit Papers left me slightly disappointed, it was the perfect ending to a weird and wonderful novel. I loved the premise: Isaac is a small-town plumber who resents his job, having been forced into the family business after high school. His dream has always been to go to medical school and become a surgeon. I love the juxtaposition of the ideal scrubbed-clean, antiseptic environment of an operating room and the reality of Isaac's life: having to fix toilets and dealing with messy plumbing issues.

Exit Papers is an interesting psychological work. As readers are introduced to Isaac's hopes and dreams and his real life frustrations, our sympathy with him increases by the page. But Liam Card involves the reader even further as he seems to ask us: how much will it take for us not to sympathize with Isaac? In my case it turned to be quite a lot!

I enjoyed the literary ride that Liam Card took me on in Exit Papers from Paradise, and I look forward to embarking on many more.

[Bonny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has to be one of the funniest, quirkiest books about a funny, quirky character that I've ever read. Isaac is a plumber in Paradise, Michigan but he really wants to be a surgeon. After high school, he dutifully took over his father's plumbing business, but he's been dreaming about attending the University of Michigan as the first step toward becoming a surgeon. For many reasons, he's been afraid to actually apply to college, but he has been busy conducting surgery on animals, reading medical journals, and carrying on an intense internal dialogue. It's this internal dialogue that really helped me connect with Isaac, see him as more than just plain weird, care about his character, and care about what happens to him. My internal dialogue was screaming, “NO, NO, NO!” at the end, but I don't think Liam Card could have ended it any other way.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit bonkers! IT's about a plumber who wanted to be a doctor but got locked into the family business when his father became injured. He immerses his life in medical theory and research, even hunting animals to practice surgical procedures on them. He wants to go back to school but can't bring himself to apply. He daydreams all the time, quite bizarre daydreams that, at first, you aren't sure aren't real until they get way over the top. He can't seem to make a committment in relationships either until he meets a teenage Goth who fascinates him. Will he finally have the ambition to be what he always wanted to be or will Fate have its way no matter what?

[Waj Hoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark, yet humourous story that had me engaged from the very beginning. I found Liam Card's writing style refreshing and unique, and his use of Issac Sullivan's inner dialogue was brilliant--and disconcertingly, at least for me, strangely identifiable. The pacing was superb, and I had to take a deep breath when I turned the last page. Kudos to Liam Card on this entertaining piece of work.

If this is a debut effort, I am truly excited for what comes next.

[Cachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how Liam Card seemed to have and write a deep understanding of the neurotic genius main character. I enjoyed the character development the most and enjoyed reading a book that highlighted the depth that one might go if they cannot stand up for themselves and make decisions that impact their life and future. Let this be a lesson to us all - don't wait, go for it!.

[Ami Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The way that Liam Card writes his dark humor, I could identify with and found it funny. His character says the things you have swimming in your mind on a daily basis. If you've ever longed for a life different than that in which you're living or ever had the 'what ifs', this book is for you.

I would definitely recommend it!

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story and the unique way it is told - you really get inside the main characters head. Great job by Liam Card, looking forward to the next one!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a weird book. I don't know if it was genius and I wasn't or what. I kept wanting to put it down but kept reading. It did pick up once the main characters life started to pick up but this is a book that I found that I skimmed a lot. I usually don't skim but I didn't feel like I was missing anything by skimming this very strange book.

The writing was good. The ending abrupt. The daydreams - weird and his real life - weird. I think the book will stay with me for a long time and that in itself is probably a good thing but the book was so strange.

I will read another by this author to see what else he does. I honestly don't know if I liked this book, or hated it! Given that, I would bet that it would be good for a bookclub discussion.

[Ahespeler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, I really did...but I just couldn't. Obviously lots of other people on this website did but I don't really understand why. If you do decide to read it, maybe wait until it hits the bargain shelf at your local bookstore.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little unsure of this book, however is had a hard time putting it down. There was everything I enjoy in a book: humour, romance and character. The ending definitely left me wanting more. Can't wait to read the author's next book!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very entertaining read. I'm looking forward to Liam Card's next novel.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a few chapters to get into this book and other than the ending I enjoyed it especially the humorous parts that had me giggling out loud. I would give this book 3.5 stars.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a really great read! The inner dialogue is so well written - you don't feel crazy for talking to yourself...... never mind the story itself. Thanks for the fun.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book on Scribd and am sincerely glad I didn't pay for it. The MC wants to escape his Small town life as a plumber. He is apparently super intelligent and also has transferable skills to medicine. He does eventually achieve his dream of escape but not quite in the way you expect it. The trick to getting through this is (for me) the pace at which you read it. Too much concentration on the individual words simply turned it into so much mush Once I got into the flow I managed to read it without too much more pain. I certainly would not recommend it to anyone

[Macy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story and I was all in. Then the end came. Not giving anything away except to say ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Such a disappointing end to an otherwise well written story.

[Isabella Swanepoel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!
Lots of laugh out loud moments and the inner dialogue is hilarious.
Great characters, great story, great ending.
Narrator is brilliant!

[Steven Buechler · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have all spend sleepless nights pondering what we have done in our lives. "What could we have become if opportunity X had only happened to us when we reached station Y." We tossed and turned and looked ourselves in the mirror in the morning wondering if we still have time to do something with meaning or are we delusional in our dreams. That is the thought process Liam Card has his protagonist go through in his brilliant novel Exit Papers from Paradise.

http://wp.me/p46Ewj-F7

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so enjoyed Liam Card's writing. Though I'm in a completely different age and sex category, I felt like I truly understood Isaac. (spoiler) I do wish he had not eliminated Isaac at the end of the book, as I was very much looking forward to the next phase of his life. Keep writing, Liam....you have the gift.

[Thea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what's worse: the utterings of a neurotic genius trapped in a tragic set of circumstances or the abrupt cliffhanger of an ending (spoiler alert) that leads nowhere.


Why did I waste my time???

[Margaret Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique plot, great pace.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read with wonderful dialogue and a fine main character. Too bad the ending sort of killed the book and left me with an ugh.

[Kim Curran · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a great story, right up until the ending,which I hated!

[Jacob Earl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give it a higher rating, but I don't think the ending was a good wrap up. It felt like a cop out.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and kind of funny, but just not my style - Also, although it matched the rest of the book and the overall tone and theme of the story, I was not pleased with the ending.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully silly and quirky; very well done. . . but a crappy-ass ending you did *not* want to see.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, but intelligently written. I loved the story and found it a bit sad. The inner dialog was both familiar and at times, funny. I look forward to more from this author. Great debut novel!