Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving

Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving was a definite shift from my usual listen. I thought the narrator, Jeff Woodman, did a great job of presenting the tone of the novel. This is the first listen in a long time that I couldn't put down. Generally, I only allow myself to listen in my vehicle. But I broke that rule and listened at home as well. I'm very glad that I listened. I'm looking forward to the author's next work.

This book is full of pitiful people: a young man stricken with MD, assorted men who can't seem to do anything right, and the poor protagonist, a guy whose life is a chronicle of disaster and loserdom. Given this premise, Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving could have been a depressing and boring book, but it's not. It was warm and funny and very entertaining. I found myself rooting for these characters and liking them immensely.

Kudos to the narrator, Jeff Woodman. He deftly brought each individual character to life -- richly nuanced and completely believable.

There are few parts for women, except as marginal girlfriends, and this book did not read as advertised, especially considering the beautiful cover calligraphy. I was hoping for more of a "Phoenix-from-the-ashes" kind of story with a little bit of spiritual growth, dysfunction, empathy and emotional learnings thrown in. Instead, it's just a bunch of guys hanging out talking guy talk. The fact that one guy has a disabling disease is just incidental.

And I think that leaving out the details of what happened in "the disaster" is just plain ole unfair to the reader, unless there are other factors that attract. Which, of course, there were not.

Perhaps I didn't read far enough but the characters failed to engage me. The story has potential but the scenes were just not interesting. I kept imagining a bunch of guys hanging out in The Uniform - in grey, blue and brown hoodies, athletic shoes, ball caps, (some backwards), baggy pants, drinking beer. No thanks.

I selected this book because I loved Jonathon Evison's book, All About Lulu. This book was even better. I was a little afraid because the title made me wonder if the book might be too sad with too many gruesome details about caregiving; yet, to the contrary, this book took the reader through a man's grief of losing his family as he adventured through his days as a caregiver. Ben, the father and caregiver, showed himself to be a father to all he came across as he helped his patient, Trev, come into his manhood and burst through the barriers of his disease. What a journey. Just loved it. This is the kind of fiction that keeps you coming back for more. I learned more about love, life and death while listening to exceptional reading voices and got to know some beautiful and interesting people. More please.