Customer Reviews

The Vomit Factory (Life Is Fake: Death Is Good)

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I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend. I had planned to give it to my husband, but I started reading it first. I could not put it down. I was really amazed at the quality of the writing. I am not in the target audience by any means, and did not particularly like the vile language and drug commentary, but it was mesmerizing to read. It was funny, sad, heartbreaking, maddening, thought provoking, and brilliant. The author loves to rant and rave and it was very apparent that he felt strongly about his subject(s). I found his philosophy very interesting and agreed with a lot of it. It was certainly more entertaining and easier to read than any other philosophy book I have read (or tried to read). There was a lot of passion in his writing and I felt it was very personal to him. He is a true artist and has certainly done his share of suffering, as such. I really enjoyed reading his rejection letters. They were hilarious! What a shame this book won't get wider distribution; I think a lot of the younger people could learn something from this book and probably identify with a lot of his feelings. Bravo, Mr. Newport!!
(My husband is going to have to buy his own copy - I'm keeping mine!)

I like taking this book with me when I travel on the train. I can open it up to any page and be amused. That to me is good value for money.

The author, as a product of late 20th century, suburban, middle class America, rants & rails at popular culture, morals, values, and interests. And he does this with violent color and personality which sometimes can be quite humorous. It's the sort of flavor of humor you might find in Celine's best work (who?).

The core of The Vomit Factory is the author's Newportian Dreamgame Theory. This contains much food for thought. The gist is that this human world is only a dreamgame and we wake up from it when we die. No god and no judgments. All of which I find endlessly fascinating to ponder (as I was raised Mormon). I like this book very much.