Customer Reviews

Jack and Mr. Grin

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really wanted to like this book, I truly did. The beginning was quite superb but then it fizzles out. I enjoyed the characters but feel that this story was driven way too long. I will not give up on Prunty but will be expecting a little more from the next book/novel that I pick up. This is not a horror story...eh.. didnt seem quite bizarro but more of a thriller that bends the edges of reality.

FROM THE FUNKY WEREPIG

I have always found Andersen Prunty entertaining. But JACK & MR GRIN was my first roll-up-the-sleeves 200 page journey into the insanity he likes to create. I fully admit one reason for waiting this long is the tag `Bizarro' that is often attached to his work. I'm afraid my journeys into this sub-genre have caused more headaches than inspired readings. However, the plot behind this book was just too intriguing to ignore.

The main character Jack is not a guy who has a red carpet laid out before him in life but he does have something that means everything to him- his girlfriend Gina. And that makes him the luckiest guy in the world. That is until the morning he goes out to grab them some quick food and returns to find Gina missing. The normal questions go through his head but his worst nightmare is confirmed when he gets the phone call. Gina has been abducted. And the kidnapper wants to play a game. He's going to torture her until Jack can find them. Vague clues are given and the clock starts ticking.

The story is emotional and sucks you under as you dread each new phone call and every new riddle right along with Jack. Prunty mixes in madness that very slowly (and wisely) takes the reader into a world that can't possibly exist. Due to his skill, Prunty never loses us. Our heads spin and we get to grab onto the same anchors of reality that Jack finds along the way. It is a full fledged trip down the Rabbit Hole and the only thing the reader can care about is finding Gina in time.

That's a testament to Prunty's writing. No matter how far out there he takes us in his warped imagination, he ties us to the pure fear that Jack may lose Gina forever. It forces you to truly think about whatever levels of hell you'd go through to save the one you love. Your spouse. Your kids. The crazier a picture Prunty paints, the more you become rooted in the only quest that matters.

The other thing that Prunty does is he keeps his sentences simple. Direct. He doesn't overload you with extra descriptive words to punch the images or intensity home. He lets his story do it on its own. This formula sets up an amazing pace that builds and builds as the chapters fly by.

JACK & MR. GRIN is a very simplistic story wrapped in a limitless imagination. It's insane but all the pieces fit together perfectly (Call it `Controlled Insanity' if you need a label). When I finished this book, I couldn't help but think that Rod Serling would have loved to have scooped up Prunty for his stable of Twilight Zone writers.

I found that much like many of the writers I enjoy, it is unfair to slap a label or category on Prunty. I know the Bizarro patriots will scream that he belongs to them but I'm afraid they must share. Every dark fiction horror thriller collection should have JACK & MR. GRIN on its shelf.

Andersen Prunty's "Jack and Mr. Grin", his third release from Eraserhead Press, is best described as a Bizarro thriller. Jack Orange, a hapless young man working in a dirt-packing facility, comes home to discover his girlfriend has been kidnapped by a sinister entity known only as Mr. Grin. Jack is told he has twenty-four hours to find her. And then...things start getting weird.

Prunty sets a surreal, nightmarish tone that only intensifies as Jack's journey progresses. The longer his search takes, the more insane his surroundings become, reflecting the panic and madness he has been cast into by Mr. Grin.

"Jack and Mr. Grin" is a perfect example of Andersen Prunty's writing ability. The plight of the characters is easily identifiable, and the tension that builds throughout the book is felt by the reader with each turn of the page. Buy this book and experience Prunty's talent first-hand. The man is as underrated as they come, and it's high time we change that.

This book was amazing at moments it is so sweet and heart filled and then it dives into the darkest corners of humanity you can imagine Andersen Prunty has really hit gold with this one.

This is my first reading of bizarro and it won't be the last. Prunty takes a commonly written plot line and makes it his own with interesting plot twists and situations. I will definitely seek out more of his work.

Yes, I hate to use that title to describe this piece of glorious fiction. However, that's what it is. It is a fast-paced thrill ride.
I wasn't sure what to expect when picking this up. I've not read anything by Anderson Prunty, but this particular book beckoned. I liked it and don't regret my decision. However, the ride you're in store for is far from what you'd gather from the back cover or the description here on Amazon. Pick it up. Even if you're unsure.
The book wastes no time getting the action in gear. You've got happy-go-lucky Jack who works at a dirt-packing factory (don't ask, don't ask) and his ho-hum life. He's content with Gina, his girlfriend, and on the brink of proposal. You've got his oddball next door neighbor who's more than a handful and you've got his seemingly normal life.
All that is rocked by the addition of Mr. Grin. Silly Jack...he shouldn't have ventured off to get breakfast. He finds his world turned upside down when the mysterious Mr. Grin steals/kidnaps Gina and plunges Jack into a ruckus thrill ride of vengeance and bloodshed. His only request: don't call the police.
This sounds like a cliche vengeance tale, but it's not. It's a strong ride into the human psyche and how far someone will go for the one they love. Or so it seems.
Anderson Prunty crafts the action like a smooth choclate fountain: it just flows. Once the pawns are placed, the action kicks into high gear. It took me two days to get through the first couple of chapters thinking this was just another cliche piece. Once I got immersed I couldn't put it down.
One thing Prunty knows is action.
My only complaint...dialogue. Most is strong and right. Some is awkward and out of place.
The story itself makes up for all its faults and the ending...well, don't look to me to spoil that.
Pick this book up, kids. You'll like it. It's strong. I can see fans of Elmore Leonard and genre horror eating it up.
I'm looking forward to exploring Anderson Prunty's worlds further. Next up...Zerostrata.

I've read several of his books and this one is not up to the same level as the others in my opinion. With that said its not a bad book either. Three stars is "OK" by Amazon's system. The plot lacks a start, has a slow middle and the ending is patched together. That sounds bad as I reread it, but its really not as the book isn't a boring read and it is worth the journey, but when placed side by side with say Fness, Slag Attack or Morning Is Dead it doesn't represent what the author is capable of. Prunty is a very good author, this book is not his best work, but its worth reading. I guess that would summarize my feelings on the topic.

I'm not going to lie, parts of this were pretty brutal, but the story really kept me guessing and it was one of those books that you just can't put down until you find out what happens.

Jake leaves his girlfriend, Gina, at home while he runs out to pick up breakfast one Sunday morning. When he returns, Gina is missing and in that moment Jack just knows that something terrible has happened. When he receives a phone call from Mr. Grin, his worst fears are confirmed, and Jack has 24 hours to find the woman he loves or he will lose her forever.

Throughout Jack's odyssey to save Gina Mr. Grin torments him, calling Jack so he can listen to Gina's screams as Mr. Grin tortures her. I really wasn't sure how the author would resolve Gina's abuse -- it was difficult to see how Gina or Jack would be able to move past their ordeal -- but Prunty threw in a couple of nifty twists to ease the reader's heart on that matter. (A big thank you to the author for that, BTW -- I would have finished this book on a very sour note if that hadn't been the case.)

I was very surprised by the identity of Mr. Grin -- I wasn't sure the author would be able to make the villain evil enough to make his actions make sense (he did) or that, in the end, his motives would seem realistic within the framework of the story (again, he pulls it off).

There was also a very sad moment that I thought Prunty turned around in a very interesting way, pulling in what could have been a loose end in order to do so. Very nice!

This is the third book I've read from this author, and I've liked each of them. I will definitely read more of his work.

One final note -- the cover of my copy scared the bejeesus out of my kids, so you might want to be careful leaving it out if your children are also easily frightened! (Because of the cover, though, my kids were extra intrigued by this book and keep asking me if Jack rescued his girlfriend!)

My first experience with Andersen Prunty was his book The Sorrow King, which I thought was a fantastic read. After finishing it I immediately wanted to read more of his work. I was a little concerned that since I started out with his newest work that maybe I wouldn't enjoy his previous work as much, but that was just dumb, apparently all his books are great.
Jack and Mr. Grin isn't straight forward Bizarro, it has some Bizarro elements to it, but really it's more of a Bizarro thriller. One lazy Sunday Jack goes out to get his girlfriend and himself some breakfast. When he returns he finds his girlfriend is not there. After a quick search of the house he gets a strange phone call from the man who has Gina, a man who sounds like he's grinning. Jack has twenty four hours to find Gina and battle Mr. Grin to the death.
Andersen Prunty does a great job with his characters, keeping them real and making you care about them. Jack goes through a lot of emotional turmoil during his quest, mainly due to the psycholoigical torture that Mr. Grin puts him through.
This was for me another excellent read from Mr. Prunty, and I will look forward to more.

This struck me as being like a writing class assignment given to a late-teen, early-twenty-something, in which the student decides to write a nightmare as reality. As strange and as many consciously made twists as there were in this book, it became rather dull and actually even had a predictable feel to it, though I can't really say why it felt that way to me.

The best parts of the novel were those that described the characters and their relationships and that showed them interacting. That was what kept me reading through to the end. I wish there had been more of that and less of the standard "this is a bizarre nightmare, but it's all real" shtick -- which, however, might really appeal to another reader.

The book read very fast -- it didn't seem as long as it said the print length was, 196 pages -- and the prose generally flowed pretty well, even when it was describing "impossible" things, making the jumps from one perception of reality to another seamless, if not entirely smooth (probably a conscious choice of the author).

I probably would have written a rave review of this book back when I was about 16, and I do wish that I liked it more. However, I have to say that it's all right, but I won't be seeking out any more like it.