From Publishers Weekly
Originally self-published in 2001, Vigorito's bloated first novel goes mainstream in this "newly updated" version. When Dr. Blip Korterly, the eccentric philosopher best friend of narrator and molecular biologist Dr. Flake Fountain, vandalizes a bridge with the words "uh-oh," he starts a chain reaction that ends in cataclysm. Along the way, Flake is enlisted by Tibor Tynee, the megalomaniac president and CEO of Tynee University (and Flake's boss), to create a vaccine for the Pied Piper virus, a U.S. military-designed bug that destroys humans' ability to communicate. General Kiljoy, in charge of the Pied Piper project (and very, very Gen. Ripper from
Dr. Strangelove), works out a deal with the local police and the university to test the virus on prisoners. Blip, arrested after a confrontation with a raving preacher on the university green, ends up becoming one of the test subjects. The virus, of course, escapes the test facility, leading to some very bad things. Vigorito frequently delves into goofy metaphors and hippie screeds, and though his novel offers plenty of absurdity, his inability to go big with humor or vision leaves this feeling like Pynchon ultra-lite.
(Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an alternate
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edition.
From the Inside Flap
BEST VISIONARY FICTION, Independent Publisher Book Awards Just a Couple of Days is a most intriguing book; well-written and daring. It's the kind of ground-breaking work we look for in these awards.
From Library Journal
Free-spirited sociology professor Blip Korterly writes "Uh-oh" across a bridge, and our narrator and his colleague, microbiology professor Flake Fountain, traces the disastrous effects of a virus back to that moment. Although friends, Blip and Flake are polar opposites. Blip believes he is being poisoned as part of a plot against him, while Flake spends his days focusing on bits of DNA. When Blip is arrested, he's sure something sinister is going on in the town jail. Not only is that true, but Flake is being lured into taking part in it. Flake's job is to find a cure for the highly contagious Pied Piper virus, which breaks down peoples' ability to communicate. While Blip gets rearrested so that he can investigate the mystery, Flake, because of the highly secret nature of the work, is taken into total isolation. Vigorito's book was originally published in 2001, but because of its irreverent, whimsical style, it has attracted a cult following. Sprinkled throughout are philosophical rants and rhetorical questions. The final apocalyptic vision is a twist not seen since Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. Recommended.
From Christopher Moore, bestselling author of Lamb and A Dirty Job
Just a Couple of Days is a lyrical, thoughtful, viral meme of a book. Read it!
From Kris Saknussemm, author of Zanesville
This is the kind of literary enjoyment so many people say you shouldn't have, and then worry about when you start to draw larger conclusions from. Tough luck for them. This is fun and meaningful. I'd go so far as to say that this novel is "folk heroic" and should be read by anyone who still values their capacity to think for themselves--and the ability to appreciate books that aren't neatly laid out for them by the New York mill. Real writing speaks for itself--and to us. This does.
From Richard Heinberg, author of The Party's Over and Powerdown
Tony Vigorito's brilliant novel is a Dr. Strangelove for the biotech century, a witty and wise end-of-the-world romp that manages to be optimistic - even joyous - yet cynically dystopian at the same time. Just a Couple of Days is savvy, wickedly funny, and profoundly disturbing. An absorbing, thought-provoking read.
From Chris Genoa, author of Foop!
Like a technologically-savvy modern-day Rabelais, Vigorito gives humanity a swift, playful, and long overdue slap on the ass... Just a Couple of Days is so damn good it's one of the books that made me want to be a writer.
From Wisconsin Bookwatch
An unpredictably adventurous and singularly ambitious novel. Especially recommended reading for anyone with a literary interest in the surreal...
From Columbus Alive
One is immediately impressed... Vigorito laces his writing with a satirical touch, adding levity to the heady subject matter.
From Zenzibar Alternative Culture
[A] humorous apocalyptic novel...reminiscent of Tom Robbins...Vigorito has a similar facility in putting together colorful and creative metaphors. The pace is quick and engaging with occasional diversions into deep philosophical thought...hilarious...a parody of society, particularly the institutions of control...Just a Couple of Days provokes thought and laughter and shows that freedom is, indeed, a bigger game than power.
From Armchair Interviews
If you enjoy quirky characters, twists you didn't see coming, a story you will think about long after you've closed the book and find you can't wait for the author's next novel, this one is for you... Vigorito has an imagination you'll want to examine.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
