Unplugged

No exaggeration. I laughed out loud again and again and again while reading author Joe Barrett’s uproarious novel. Imagine the off-the-wall absurdity of Dave Barry’s and Alan Zweibel’s Lunatics meets the ribald shenanigans of the movie Wedding Crashers.Dan Johnson has struck it rich: he’s sold his app for hundreds of millions of dollars and now has everything he could possibly want: a five-story brownstone on a high-end Jersey City waterfront block; Clancy, a drop-dead gorgeous fiancée; a brother Bill who loves him. Except, Dan’s not really sure what he wants in life. He decides that the only way he will discover that is to free himself from all digital distractions. So, he unplugs—no phone, no tablet, no computer, no TV. And then things get really weird.He broke up with Clancy a year ago, but he can’t make her believe it. Not only that, but his voyeuristic friend Sluggo won’t “allow” the breakup—there are too many visual benefits for being “his best friend’s girlfriend’s best guy friend,” because of the way Clancy struts her stuff. Brother Bill is a sociopath who walks the neighbors’ dogs and has told everyone he’s his rich brother Dan. And then there are the O’Shaughnessy Boys, a suicidal group of Ph.D. Philosophers who drink themselves into oblivion daily at a no-name bar, waiting for the universe to reveal a truly dramatic way for them to leave this world.Barrett has crafted a dark delight: a novel that maintains its sometimes fiendish humor from the first page to the very last sentence. Unplugged is far and away the funniest thing I’ve read in years. A very enthusiastic five stars, and a thank you to the author from “the Sluggo in us all.”

I wasn't sure I was going to even read this book when I started. Couldn't really get into the first chapter or so, but somehow it grabbed my interest, I kept on and absolutely loved this book! It was way over the top and full of quirky and bizarre characters. What an imagination this author has. I give it 4.5 stars."Unplugged" kept me laughing throughout and has to be the funniest book I have ever read. This was not just a chuckle, but real guffawing. I found myself LOLing so many times that at one point I enthusiastically yelled out "I LOVE THIS BOOK!" I was home alone, but I'm sure my cat was jealous that she couldn't read it, even though she tried a few times...I loved the author's writing so much, I immediately looked for his other books and found I already owned them! So what's next? Yes, his other two books!

Joe Barret has become of my favorite comic novelists. Right up there with Joseph Heller, Christopher Moore, and Richard Brautigan. Wonderful crazy characters that are somehow very believable. With a world as insane as ours is right now, it's sometimes hard to find the comedy. But Joe Barret has angle on the world that I just love. His point of view is hilarious and dead honest.

For some reason,I thought that this book was a mystery, which is what I mostly read. Actually, I'm not 100% certain what category this book is, but I enjoyed it immensely. Because I thought that I was reading a mystery and the protagonist was wealthy, I kept expecting him to disappear or something, so I kept reading. Nobody disappeared, but the story was so engaging that I couldn't stop reading. By the time I was near the end, I was laughing my head off...mostly about the naked vegans swinging chickens...Now you have to read it to understand that! I literally stayed up all night to finish this book...it's 5:30 a.m. now...But the ending was so worth the time.

Laugh out loud humor! Read his other books as well and they are pretty darn funny. A light read, good for an e,optional boost!

This book has some real laugh-out-loud humor and a happy ending with a twist. What more could you want? Highly entertaining.

While the novel possesses many of the same strengths as Managed Care, it also, unfortunately, is maddeningly like some 1970s sitcom which centers around a hero who, rather than calmly sitting down and taking a couple of minutes to clarify a muddled situaton, instead bolloxs things up by attempting to deal with things in a panicked and scatterbrained fashion, at which point utterly unamusing complications ensue.Fingers crossed for now--the author has enough to offer that I'm willing to chance that this was a one off, and that with his next effort he will be back on track.

I liked the whole book and recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good laugh. The other book was just as good too!

I don't really know how to describe this humorous novel. Perhaps I will revise my comments when I have re-read it in a few months.Very funny in places and quite an eye opener to the way the younger generation think. I enjoyed it even if it left me a bit puzzled and even a little disturbed.Well worth reading although younger readers may shrug it of a being quite ordinary.

I really liked this book. The story is based around two "unbalanced " brothers who have an unusual relationship with the world. The journey to self-discovery is enjoyable and well written.

Interesting ideas explored in this book, thought the philosophers story was weird, but hey imagination can take you anywhere! Worth a read, I enjoyed it.

Had to read this in one day. Great story and what characters! Could only happen across the pond. Cheers Joe.

Not the type of book I usually read, but I enjoyed this from the first word to the last. Highly recommended.