Contortionist's Handbook - The Ending

Read it again.

hey, sug
welcome to the cult !

as for an answer, it's been a while..

i can offer help, though:

jump over to the velvet. there is more serious booktalk there. things over here are a little heated at the moment. (internal problems, not because of you i assure.) the address to the fold is www.welcometothevelvet.com

that's the official author site for stephen graham jones, craig clevenger, and will christopher baer. you may even get some insight fron clev himself. but probably you'll more easily get your answer by searching the threads there. i'm sure it's been discussed rigorously over the years.

i'll do a quick sweep there and if i come across a link to a specific thread, i'll come back and let you know
-kabol

okay..

this is a pretty good thread:

http://welcometothevelvet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=930
-here, vig crafts an impressive overview of the ending

also, this is the best forum to find your answers about craig:

http://welcometothevelvet.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18

oh, and your second read is actually gonna be better than the first read. things you missed, the writing overall. as alex suggests, read it again. it's well worth it.

see ya on the boards
-kabol

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I just read that, what were you confused about? I'll try to explain to for you.

side note: I just got his 2nd book in the mail! Im pumped to read that one.

derm is damned near a perfect novel. there is one very short chapter that is utterly perfect. i'll of course spare the details of the writing. but, apparently he'd written the bulk of it on bar napkins and then just pieced them together for that short chapter. i guess when you truly zone to something, when you feel you can get it down perfectly, it really doesnt matter if youre at work in a bar and only have a series of bev naps to work with.

i mostly love the way he branched out with a whole new story outlook and a wholly different character. the writing is very much improved. it's gritty and noir and the dark is intoxicating. the opening sentence alone speaks volumes.
have fun with it. his third is in works and is also a wildly different approach to a story
oh, and welcome to the cult
-kabol

ps.. check out his site over at the velvet ... if you click on his name, youll be navigated to his blog and he usually keeps a few stories there if you scroll enough, including the fade, which is the story upon his third novel is based

..

Maybe I should've made myself look less like a complete moron!

I've read an awful lot about the shocking ending etc...

Whilst the abrupt end was indeed a surprising, and in my opinion brilliant way to end the book, the amount I've read about it led to slight paranoia in thinking I was missing something. A big twist? I basically didn't pick up on any fight club style twist, and I'm sure I should have done!

I was hoping there may be a big discussion or dissection of it on the net somewhere. Certainly the comment on the link you sent me about the last time John was in a large open space without enclosure passed me by...

Thanks for your help by the way, much appreciated. Will certainly be reading Clevenger further.

hey, dont forget will baer's three novels. his writing is infective.
here's one of his first short stories from back in the day:

http://chuckpalahniuk.net/features/shorts/suffer-the-fool

and again, welcome to the cult
-kabol

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thanks for the info kabol, Im going to start it today

just finished and loved the book but wanted to get an explanation of the ending as i feel im missing something. can anyone explain or point me to a post that does?

It's an open ending. He either gets caught by the police, or by the mob, or he escapes. To be honest, I don't think he gets away, but the thought that Keara has the same "story" of multiple identities as he does might make him happy for the little time he has left. Either as a free person or as a living one.