Having spent most of his life medicated, electroshocked, and institutionalized, Jerome Coe finds himself homeless on the coldest night of the century — and so, with nowhere else to go, he accepts a ride out of New England from an old love's ex-girlfriend. It doesn't quite work out, but he makes it to New Orleans, and a new life — work, friends, and only the occasional psychotic break. What follows involves his last two chances to find real happiness (one's from Ecuador, one sells cigarettes), the old vicious enemies that may prevent him from obtaining it, and a cast of Crescent City denizens that makes for one of the most vivid ensembles since Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Bill Cotter’s Fever Chart proves there is still fresh wit and fierce life in the American tongue. Read this book."
—Wells Tower
“As a blurber I am required to say ‘Edgar Rice Burroughs meets Thomas Pynchon’ or ‘George Saunders meets Mickey Spillane.’ But the truth is I’m not sure who’s meeting whom. All I know is they’re meeting on a teacup ride in a seedy amusement park, a teacup ride that has miserably failed its inspection, making the experience pleasantly familiar but alarmingly skewed, full of fun but deadly dangerous. You’ll be dizzy when it’s over if it doesn’t fly apart and chop your head off. But the ride is worth it.”
—Jack Pendarvis
"Fever Chart is not about the destination so much as the reckless, driving-with-your-knees journey, and Jerome Coe is an antihero for the ages."
—Texas Monthly
"Jerome Coe is a troubled young man who leaves behind the mental hospital he occasionally finds himself in to take an exciting romp through the same New Orleans that played so centrally in John Kennedy Toole’s Confederacy of Dunces. While Ignatius Reilly and Jerome would probably ignore each other if they passed on Bourbon Street, there is little doubt that they inhabit the same city, a baroque mess of a place, inhabited almost entirely by strange grotesques. Coe’s misadventures make for a lively, engaging read, that is funny as well as poignant. In a series of flashbacks, Cotter allows us cunning insight into the mind of Jerome Coe and the circumstances that led him to the mental hospital. A fun, engaging read that will satisfy an one left wanting more of New Orleans after encountering Confederacy."
—Nate Campbell, Pop Damage
“Fever Chart is one of the year’s most wonderfully dark and entertaining novels, and its protagonist Jerome Coe an unfortgettable literary character.”
—Large Hearted Boy
“Fever Chart is a disarming, frenetic and loving portrait of mental illness set in dirty New Orleans with a story that swept me up into an unplanned day of reading on the couch and a descriptive style that made me pray never to encounter a gangrened hand stuck inside a diaper-cum-bandage. The kicker: Ron Regé, Jr.’s incredible cover design.”
—Domy.com
—Wells Tower
“As a blurber I am required to say ‘Edgar Rice Burroughs meets Thomas Pynchon’ or ‘George Saunders meets Mickey Spillane.’ But the truth is I’m not sure who’s meeting whom. All I know is they’re meeting on a teacup ride in a seedy amusement park, a teacup ride that has miserably failed its inspection, making the experience pleasantly familiar but alarmingly skewed, full of fun but deadly dangerous. You’ll be dizzy when it’s over if it doesn’t fly apart and chop your head off. But the ride is worth it.”
—Jack Pendarvis
"Fever Chart is not about the destination so much as the reckless, driving-with-your-knees journey, and Jerome Coe is an antihero for the ages."
—Texas Monthly
"Jerome Coe is a troubled young man who leaves behind the mental hospital he occasionally finds himself in to take an exciting romp through the same New Orleans that played so centrally in John Kennedy Toole’s Confederacy of Dunces. While Ignatius Reilly and Jerome would probably ignore each other if they passed on Bourbon Street, there is little doubt that they inhabit the same city, a baroque mess of a place, inhabited almost entirely by strange grotesques. Coe’s misadventures make for a lively, engaging read, that is funny as well as poignant. In a series of flashbacks, Cotter allows us cunning insight into the mind of Jerome Coe and the circumstances that led him to the mental hospital. A fun, engaging read that will satisfy an one left wanting more of New Orleans after encountering Confederacy."
—Nate Campbell, Pop Damage
“Fever Chart is one of the year’s most wonderfully dark and entertaining novels, and its protagonist Jerome Coe an unfortgettable literary character.”
—Large Hearted Boy
“Fever Chart is a disarming, frenetic and loving portrait of mental illness set in dirty New Orleans with a story that swept me up into an unplanned day of reading on the couch and a descriptive style that made me pray never to encounter a gangrened hand stuck inside a diaper-cum-bandage. The kicker: Ron Regé, Jr.’s incredible cover design.”
—Domy.com
About the Author
Bill Cotter was born in Dallas in 1964, and has labored as an antiquarian book dealer and restorer since 2000. He presently lives in Austin with his girlfriend, the poet Annie La Ganga, and Travis, an inextinguishable roach who divides his time between the shower and the silverware drawer. He (Bill) is at work on his second novel.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Zany Romp Through Insanity,
This review is from: Fever Chart (Hardcover)
A fast-paced, intricately woven plot that stimulates the imagination on how new elements will be integrated. A constant flow of fresh images...with taboo details that open a floodgate of memories of which one never speaks. Writing that is mostly one- and two-syllable words makes for lively reading while an artful peppering of multi-syllables lends an air of authority.This romp includes travel through a psychotic break that gives a sense of what the seriously mentally ill can experience. And, of course, there is an abundance of sex, generally (though not always) antiseptic descriptions of activities with self and others. As for puzzles -- how will Omar Sharif factor in? Straight-laced readers should be prepared to be dragged from their muddy inhibitions...into fresh mud, while the more liberated enjoy a sustained ride on the Coney Island Cyclone.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
enthralling read,
By
This review is from: Fever Chart (Hardcover)
Couldn't put it down. Rudely ignored people so I could finish it.From page 1 it's clear that the narrator protagonist is somehow broken, and the narrative and temporal structure of the book mirrors his distorted perspective. The book's prose and the protagonist's psyche go on twisting together around a surprisingly interconnected plot for a few hundred pages. It's like literary DNA. It reminds me of Richard Powers' The Echo Maker, but its tone is more personal and urgent. Cotter's characters are amazingly well defined, each one a distinctly flawed person living in, and sometimes dealing with, our odd and flawed world. The hardcover edition is physically marvelous as well, with luscious black and yellow textured covers and an eye-drawing illustration on the book jacket and cover. It's actually quite pretty, a quality I don't usually look for explicitly, but it suits and matches the careful, colorful novel.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Witty and full of craziness.,
This review is from: Fever Chart (Hardcover)
I love this book. From the moment it got started I was hooked. The subtle humor is remarkable and I felt as though I was along for the ride. You should get this book, it will make you laugh and cry all at once. I can not wait for the next book from this Author. I have not read anything like "Fever Chart" before. I loved all the craizness that followed this guy around. Through all of the wit and craziness this books offers a little sadness and that it what made it such an exciting and interesting read. Job well done.
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