Marking this one as one of my all time favorite reads! This book screams Oprah's Book Club pick, it is that awesome. I hope the author writes a continuation of Edward because I didn't want it to end!
Edward is 39 and he says he is not stupid, he's mentally ill and stupid he is not.
Edward has a daily routine; he wakes in the morning, usually between 7:37 to 7:40 and he'll tell you that he has waken at 7:37 15 times this year, 7:38 221 times and 7:39 22 times because he documents the time when he wakes up every morning. He also reads the newspaper a certain way and he documents the weather from the previous day.
Edward is a loner, he keeps to himself and doesn't talk to people if he doesn't have to but Edward decides after seeing the happy commercials about finding your soul mate to sign up to Montana Personal Connect. He tried EHarmony but they couldn't find anyone for him. This starts his "normal" life to twist and turn in a downhill spiral but the end was very sweet.
I'm not going to say any more because I would spoil it for you. You just have to read it!!
From the back of the book:
"Edward Stanton is a man hurtling headlong toward middle age. His mental illness has led him to be sequestered in his small house in a small city, where he keeps his distance from the outside world and the parents from whom he is largely estranged.
For the most part, Edward sticks to things he can count on... and things he can count. But over the course of 25 days (or 600 hours, as Edward prefers to look at it) several events puncture the walls Edward has built around himself.
In the end, he faces a choice: Open his life to experience and deal with the joys and heartaches that come with it, or remain behind his closed door, a solitary soul."
T. L Hines, author of Faces in the Fire and Waking Lazarus says:
" This is the rare book that stay with you long after you read the last page. With shades of Flowers for Algernon, author Craig Lancaster doesn't just give life to Edward Stanton's world; he gives life to the reader's world" ---- That really says it all, its so true!
This one is a must read book, you won't be disappointed.
About the author from his website Craig Lancaster:
Craig Lancaster’s road to becoming a published novelist was, like that of many authors, a bit rocky. But the rocks weren’t nearly so tough to deal with as the deer.
“I crashed a motorcycle at 60 miles per hour on the interstate in July 2008 after a buck jumped out on me,” Lancaster says. “Broken ribs, road rash, collapsed lung. It was a mess.”
A couple of months later, as Lancaster wound down his recuperation, a friend asked him to make a run at National Novel Writing Month, the annual 30-day dash in which writers are challenged to put down at least 50,000 words. It’s something Lancaster had attempted before but had never seen through.
“I was reluctant to do it again,” he says. “I was still in a bit of pain, and I didn’t really want to do anything that would lead to more disappointment.
“But the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. If you have a traumatic injury and make it through, you can’t help but think about the things you’ve always wanted to do and haven’t, for whatever reason. So I took the chance.”
The results exceeded his expectations – and exceeded the requirements of the event known as NaNoWriMo. Lancaster wrote nearly 80,000 words in the first 24 days of November 2008, laying the foundation of what would become his debut novel, 600 HOURS OF EDWARD. The story centers on a middle-aged man, Edward Stanton, who has Asperger syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder and has settled into a life largely devoid of human contact. In 25 days one autumn – 600 hours – the world he has kept at bay crashes onto his front step and forces him to deal with the fallout.
Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana, released the book in October 2009, to critical acclaim. New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen hailed the book, saying, “Funny and quirky, Lancaster’s compulsively readable debut has a heart as big as the Montana sky.” Readers who have peeked into Edward’s meticulously kept world have fallen in love with the character and the changes that come – not just with him, but with the people around him.
For Lancaster, who lives in Billings, Montana, with his wife, Angie, and two rambunctious dachshunds, 600 HOURS OF EDWARD wrenched open a whole new world. The longtime journalist is hard at work on new fiction projects, all of them intensely character-driven. And all because a deer ruined a summer day’s ride.
“It sounds cliché, but it’s not: Crushing disappointment has a way of leading to things you didn’t expect,” Lancaster says. “It’s part of the human experience. I want to explore that as deeply as I can.”
I'm so excited , I found the trailer!
vote it up!
by Boston Teran.
by Jen Knox - just about done. Shouldn't have taken this long to read it since its only 176 pages but its been a busy, crazy week.
