{"product_id":"notes-from-a-coma-isbn-9781616952327","title":"Notes from a Coma","description":"\u003cb\u003eMike McCormack's new novel \u003ci\u003eSolar Bones\u003c\/i\u003e is longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout \u003ci\u003eNotes from a Coma\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJJ O’ Malley, adopted from a Romanian orphanage by a single father in the west of Ireland, grows up a permanent outsider, and yet he finds his place in the community. At least until his world is shaken by the death of his best friend, and he volunteers for the “Somnos Project,” an experimental program testing deep coma as a potential option in the EU penal system. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In a prison ship docked in Killary Harbour, JJ is hooked up to monitoring devices that feed out to the Internet, and he and his fellow guinea pigs become global celebrities. A beautifully rendered look at small-town Irish life, and a far-reaching investigation of politics, neuroscience, global communications, and the ethics of incarceration, \u003ci\u003eNotes from a Coma \u003c\/i\u003eis a major work from one of the world’s bravest and most unusual novelists.\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eNotes from a Coma\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\"A cross between \u003ci\u003e1984 \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe X-Files\u003c\/i\u003e . . . \u003ci\u003eNotes From a Coma \u003c\/i\u003eestablishes McCormack as one of the most original and important voices in contemporary Irish fiction.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e─\u003ci\u003eIrish Times \u003c\/i\u003e(original review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"The greatest Irish novel of the decade.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e─\u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"McCormack's language is lovely, lyrical . . . his humor is dark, macabre; the words glimmer like a spell.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e─\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTime Out\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “The testimony about JJ's life is written with a sad and touching simplicity . . . Intriguing.”\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ─\u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Subtle but haunting storytelling mixes with an insightful  examination into the ethics of the penal system to produce an unusual  and unforgettable read.”\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ─\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, Starred Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Notes from a Coma \u003c\/i\u003eis the finest book yet from one of  Ireland's most singular contemporary writers, a daring reinvention of  the gothic for the age of machines.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Matt Bell, author of \u003ci\u003eAppleseed\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A major talent in Irish fiction . . . McCormack slyly and brilliantly satirizes, among many other things, our fixations with celebrity and high-priced medical technology.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e─\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Additional events and commentary take place literarily underneath  these chapters in long footnotes . . . [They underscore] how unique and  noteworthy this unusual novel truly is — and why McCormack undeniably  deserves a wider audience on this side of the globe.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e─Bookgasm\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “An intriguing novel that touches on many of the moral and ethical questions of the day. Mike McCormack is one to watch.” \u003cbr\u003e ─\u003cb\u003eBook Chase\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A great work of literary\/psychological fiction . . . well worth the read.”\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ─A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Are you ready for something mind-bending, something intelligent, introspective, and quintessentially Irish? Five men volunteer to enter a comatose state to test a new idea for incarceration of criminals. The novel makes a subtle statement on today’s politics, spirituality, and even celebrity worship.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Mary T. of R.J. Julia Booksellers\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Compelling . . . A story of politics, psychology, metaphysics, and family that defies easy classification.\"\u003cbr\u003e─\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eRequired Reading\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for Mike McCormack\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"McCormack's obsessions at times converge with those explored by Ian McEwan, Will Self and J. G. Ballard, but his clever ideas and fluid, gracefully morbid style are all his own.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e─\u003ci\u003eGQ\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"When venturing into the realm of the macabre, a writer gains a distinct advantage if he has a sense of discipline and a sense of humor . . . Mike McCormack has both to spare . . . Like parables in their easy transcendence of setting and time, the most audacious stories are classics.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e─\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eMike McCormack has published a collection of short stories, \u003ci\u003eGetting It In the Head\u003c\/i\u003e, and a novel\u003ci\u003e, Crowe's Requiem\u003c\/i\u003e. In 1996, McCormack was awarded the\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eRooney Prize for Irish Literature. In 1998, \u003ci\u003eGetting it in the Head \u003c\/i\u003ewas voted a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eNotable Book of the Year. A story from the collection, \"The Terms,\"\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewas adapted into an award-winning short film.Rescued from the squalor of a Romanian orphanage, and adopted by the rural community of west Mayo, J. J. O'Malley should have grown up happy. The boy has no gift for it, though, and his new life has a brutal way of giving him plenty to be unhappy about. After a sudden tragedy, J. J. suffers a catastrophic mental breakdown. Unable to live with himself, he volunteers for an improbable government project which has been set up to explore the possibility of using deep coma as a future option within the EU penal system. When his coma goes online the nation turns to watch, and J. J. is quickly elevated to the status of cultural icon. Sex symbol, existential hero, T-shirt philosopher─his public profile now threatens to obscure the man himself behind a swirl of media profiles, online polls, and EEG tracings.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Five narrators─his father, neighbour, teacher, public representative, and sweetheart─tell us the true story of his life and try to give some clue as to why he is the way he is now: floating in a maintained coma on a prison ship off the west coast of Ireland. Brilliantly imagined and artfully constructed─merging science fiction with an affectionate portrait of small town Ireland─\u003ci\u003eNotes from a Coma \u003c\/i\u003eis both the story of a man cursed with guilt and genius and a compassionate examination of how our identities are safeguarded and held in trust by those who love us.","brand":"Soho Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302146986213,"sku":"NP9781616952327","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781616952327.jpg?v=1767733912","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/notes-from-a-coma-isbn-9781616952327","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}