Customer Reviews

The Organ Grinders

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I really enjoyed "The Organ Grinders". It is just as funny as his first book, "Pest Control", but definitely has some darker overtones. I would classify this book as a combination of Mystery, Science Fact/Fiction, and Comedy. It sounds like an odd combination, but read the book and you'll see what I mean!!! I normally stay away from both Mysteries and Science Fiction. I am more interested in Historical Novels, Fantasy, and the like. "Pest Control" was recommended to me by a friend and I guessed correctly that I would enjoy another book by the same author.

What did I like about "The Organ Grinders"? I am an engineer, so from the "nerd perspective", the accurate science in the book was great and a bit scary. He has obviously done a TON of research and it really shows. Just as he did in "Pest Control", most chapter begin with a bit of science. I also liked, and disliked, many of the characters in the! book. If anyone has trouble disliking the unredeemable Mr.Landis, they have a serious problem. He's a quality villain, if ever there was one. Paul Symon and Georgette are well developed characters and were very real. Some of the other characters are people I would never want to meet and would certainly never make some of the life-choices they make in the book, but they contribute to the story in so many ways. The book is also very funny. Just as I had to read "Pest Control over again to catch more of the Bob Dylan jokes, I know I need to read this one again to catch more of the Paul Simmon tidbits. I have the same last name as one of the characters, which was a bit of a bonus chuckle.

What didn't I like? There are some things that I don't really want to know about or think about. Thanks to this book, I am now more aware of some ethical, emotional, and environmental issues that can't be wished away (my preferred approach). The book is sure to upset every reade! r about something. In many ways the upset is a good thing.! The areas of unpleasantness that are almost a character in this book are things we should be upset about.

Imagine a mind-meld of P. G. Wodehouse, Carl Hiaasan, and Kurt Vonegut, and you'll get an idea of Bill Fitzhugh's writing style. It's absurd, comically real, wry, and thought-provoking at the same time. In The Organ Grinders, Fitzhugh deftly weaves together the lives of half-a-dozen main characters in a rich tapestry that includes the ethics of the organ-transplant industry, industrial greed, the search for eternal life, eco-terrorism, population control, biotechnology, trailer-park culture, animal rights, and the stresses of everyday life in America today. Like a Wodehouse novel, the action is a fast-paced comedy of errors; like a Hiaasan novel, the characters are comically quirky, yet driven; and like Vonegut's recent Timequake, The Organ Grinders raises issues that deserve serious thought, but in a way that makes you want to laugh out loud (yet still be concerned with finding a solution). This is a stunning new voice; a bit dark, but nevertheless thoughtful. I borrowed this book from the library, but after reading it, feel it's a must-have for my own collection of literary gems. I couldn't put it down. And now I can't wait to read Fitzhugh's first novel, Pest Control.

I'd just finished Pest Control and dove right into Organ Grinders, and it's just as funny as the first book. Perhaps even more darkly satirical (if possible!) than Pest Control, which, even though it dealt with characters such as hit men, had a somewhat lighter touch.

Integral to the book's plot is an international traffic in organs and organ donors. I don't know if things have come to the state depicted in Fitzhugh's book, but if they aren't, they probably will soon. Aside from being hilariously funny, Fitzhugh's book made me consider some of the issues surrounding organ transplants and organ donors for the first time.

Until now, I wouldn't have thought it possible for someone to write a funny book about a subject like organ transplants.

If you liked Fitzhugh's zany brand of dark humor in Pest Control, you'll like this one too.

Without a doubt the funniest and smartest comedy I've read in quite a while. Fitzhugh is as able with the laughs as he is well-researched, and the combination provides a blazingly intelligent and fun read that is brilliant in its mixed-nuts hilarity. Flat-out gut-busting and sharp as a tack, I think "Organ Grinders" is Fitzhugh's best book -- his others are worthy, too, by the way -- and a book anyone who wants to think and laugh at the same time MUST pick up. Enjoy.

Funny, disturbing, profoundly sad in parts - how do you fit so much into one book? As I was reading "Organ Grinders" news came of two doctors in Thailand accused of harvesting organs before the "one careful owner" had quite finished with them. If everything else he describes is really happening, boy - are we in trouble. I read this, cuddled my baby son and bought no more disposable nappies.(I'm an ICU pharmacist and all of the pharmacology was spot on!)

The book organ grinders is a very interesting book with a lot of funny one liners that some might not notice. The plot is sick but true what someone would go through to stay alive in a greedy world.

If you loved PEST CONTROL, don't hesitate to pick up this gem as well. The hero Paul Symon is a truly likable guy, who just wants to make the world a better place. Though he tries to do it through legal means, the villain Landis is shaking his confidence daily. While Paul has to deal with people who are hearing without listening and talking without speaking, Landis is busy trying to find a cure for his terminal illness and perfecting xenografting... at any means necessary. Some great supporting characters in this book, including Arty - the most pain-resistant person you'll ever find, and Billy Bob & Clyde- who might need their own book!

This book is thoughtful, sad, adventurous, terrifying, but above all - funny!

Like Fitzhugh's first novel 'Pest Control', Organ Grinders brings together a wonderful cast of characters that'll leave you in stitches. And this story takes so many unbelievable turns you'll want to finish in one sitting. The good guys triumph. The bad guys die. And the cute little baboon 'Clyde' will put a smile on anyone's face. The ending is a bit predictable, and possibly too "ride off in the sunset" for some, but it's a great story and getting there IS half the fun.

I must say that it is probably the weirdest and most creative book that I have ever read. The characters in the novel were especially interesting, and Paul's no-quit attitude was quite amusing to me. I loved the plot, although there were some unexpected events I didn't see coming. I came upon this book in the browsing room of a library. I had never heard of Bill Fitzhugh before but it was the cover that caught my eye-I read the qoutes, and decided to give it a try. After the first chapter, I was hooked! So I checked it out and read it in less than a week. This novel really got me thinking about how I pollute the environment everyday and the illegal organ trading that is going on. I am a high school student, and although my biology days are long gone (almost) I wished I could have learned about xenographs and organ procurement. Although this book is scattered with scientific facts and tidbits, anyone who reads this book will enjoy the storyline and the mess the characters get into.

This book not only made me laugh, shudder, and despair, but it showed the need for people to start caring -- about the world, about morals, and about life.