The Ticking Heart

This enjoyable but haphazard romp from Kaufman (All My Friends Are Superheroes) drops the divorced Charlie Waterfield into the land of Metaphoria to find the emotional purpose of the human heart. Kaufman’s irreverent and bursting prose explores Charlie’s metaphoric odyssey to reckon with his relationship to his own heart and its capacity to give and receive love. In 24 hours, Charlie must assume the role of sole detective of the Epiphany Detective Agency, navigate the seemingly chaotic Metaphoria, grapple with his exes and his love, and reach his own epiphany in time to get his son to karate class. As Charlie faces a cyclops, white blood cells, Tachycardia Tower in the Never Ever Enough District, his ex-girlfriends, and a ticking bomb, he ends up taking a real beating. Along the way, he meets Twiggy, a theater performer whose “Spero Machine” helps him connect the dots of his past. While Kaufman’s jokes are often cheap and easy, he reminds readers that no metaphor can go too far in Metaphoria, because “you’ve been told not to be proud.” Fans of Mark Leyner will enjoy Kaufman’s messy string of outrageous scenarios. [em](Sept.) [/em]