Cousin Calls - Zeb Haradon
A college student reluctantly attends a family chili cookout that turns into a never ending nightmare. A man desperate for job skills uses a brain implant to help him learn, but it malfunctions and leaves him sexually attracted to shadows. A private investigator is hired to discover who keeps befouling the walls of convenience store bathrooms. Two deer engaged in combat find that they are unable to unlock from one another’s antlers after the fight is over. A single mother spends 2020 battling an evil landlord, a fascist neighbor, national political chaos, and a global pandemic. These are the strange stories told by regulars at the local bar on Christmas Eve, stories which each began with a phone call from someone who announced “you don’t know me, but we’re cousins.”
My review: This was one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. It's ridiculous. You can't read it and take it seriously. Some passages might be offensive to those who can't take a joke, so if you don't think you can read hilarious fiction with an open mind, then don't pick this up. If you have a sense of humor, you'll end up snorting with laughter. Warning: you might not ever want to eat chili again. In all seriousness, I don't know where the author pulled his tricks out of, but he did an excellent job in delivering a truly comedic piece of literature, which, in my humble opinion, should be found on the shelves of many independent bookstores.
Publisher: Independently published (August 27, 2021)
Language: English
Paperback: 371 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8462411069
The review copy was provided by the author.