The Epiphany Machine

De: David Burr Gerrard

Narrado por: Ari Fliakos

*Best New Science Fiction for Summer by The Washington Post
*A Most-Anticipated book of 2017 by The Millions

Everyone else knows the truth about you, now you can know it, too.

That’s the slogan. The product: a junky contraption that tattoos personalized revelations on its users’ forearms. It’s an old con, playing on the fear that we are obvious to everybody except ourselves. This particular ad has been circulating New York since the 1960s and it works. But, oddly enough, so might the device...

A small stream of city dwellers buy into this cult of the epiphany machine, including Venter Lowood’s parents. This stigma follows them when they move upstate, where Venter can’t avoid the whispers of teachers and neighbors any more than he can ignore the machine’s accurate predictions: his mother’s abandonment and his father’s disinterest. So when Venter’s grandmother finally asks him to confront the epiphany machine and inoculate himself against his family’s mistakes, he’s only too happy to oblige.

Like his parents before him, Venter is quick to fall under the spell of the device’s sweat-stained, profane, and surprisingly charming operator, Adam Lyons. But unlike them, Venter gets close enough to Adam to learn a dark secret. There’s an undeniable pattern between specific epiphanies and violent crimes. And Adam won’t jeopardize the privacy of his customers by alerting the police.

It may be a hoax, but that doesn’t mean what Adam is selling isn’t also spot-on. And in this sprawling, snarling tragicomedy about accountability in contemporary America, the greater danger is that Adam Lyon’s apparatus may just be right about us all. This is "can't-miss pop culture."(Vox)

Reseñas de la Crítica

“This is a wildly charming, morally serious bildungsroman with the rare potential to change the way readers think.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Hilarious. [A] razor-sharp alternate history...Gerrard's novel emphasizes just how desperately people want confirmation of their place in the world.”—The Washington Post

“An affecting exploration of fate and the clash of our private and public selves...ambitiously wrestling in the muck of big questions. A pleasurably speculative yarn about family and ethics.”— Kirkus Reviews

“With pitch-black humor worthy of Kafka, Gerrard’s second novel encourages us to pose this burning question: What are we hiding from ourselves.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“This weirdly compelling tale feels like a creepy 'Twilight Zone' episode.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Whereas so much of what is called 'kafkaesque' doesn’t deserve that distinction, Gerrard earns it.”—LitHub.com

“Simply tremendous. An extraordinary book, full of wisdom and surprise, ingenious and original.”—Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

“With equal parts satire, mystery, and vaudevillian comedy, David Burr Gerrard has written a masterpiece.”—Alexander Weinstein, author of Children of the New World

“Gerrard joins his own wry humor with the joyful essence of Melville. The result is hysterical, delightful, and determined—and truly, an epiphany of a modern novel.”—Kristopher Jansma, author of The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards and Why We Came to the City

“Throw David Foster Wallace, Kurt Vonnegut, and David Mitchell in a blender and you will have something of a taste of the blood and guts of his work, and then drink deep!”—Scott Cheshire, author of High as the Horses’ Bridles

“Engrossing and inventive...A deeply compelling read by a terrific young writer.”—Ben Marcus,author of The Flame Alphabet

What a Surprise: Great Audiobook

Would you consider the audio edition of The Epiphany Machine to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version, but I would guess that the audio edition is better since Ari Fliakos narrates this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Adam Lyons because his character adds the right amount of comedy to this book.

What about Ari Fliakos’s performance did you like?

This is my fourth audiobook by Ari. He is the best narrator I've heard on Audible. I probably would not have downloaded this title unless I'd seen that Ari narratied it. I'm glad I did. The story was great.

Who was the most memorable character of The Epiphany Machine and why?

Adam Lyons was the most memorable because he owns the mysterious Epiphany Machine.

Any additional comments?

For anyone who loves a great story that is paired with great narration, this is a title for you. The Epiphany Machine is well-written, clever, and interesting. It's early in 2018, but, for me, this is the best audiobook so far. Stay tuned.

Best book in a while

In a book where I hate the main character so much, probably because he is as almost exactly like me, I love the book. Hope nobody reads any of these reviews before reading it. I am glad I just bought it and listened on just the strength of the sample. Since I share the same major flaw as the main character I am sure it would have been spoiled by other people's opinions.

Loathsome characters and yet a compelling listen

If you could sum up The Epiphany Machine in three words, what would they be?

Weak, Pathetic, wandering

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I wouldn't have, its an interesting exploration of a story full of people you wouldn't want to know.

Which character – as performed by Ari Fliakos – was your favorite?

Probably Adam, he was very believable sounding as the machine's resident caretaker.

Any additional comments?

The Epiphany Machine's main character is so flawed and unlikeable that I found I had to finish. Not because I was hopeful for some type of redemption, that went out the window, but because I was so impressed that you could write a compelling novel without any meaningful characters that I identified with.

It's not a book I would recommend to anyone, but it is definitely one worth recommending to anyone interested in human nature and something different.

Magical Narration

Narrator, Ari Fliakos, carried this story long after I wanted it to end. The book started out wonderfully, with a fresh premise and well-developed characters. But about 1/2 way through the story took a turn for the worse and continued to gain momentum until it was in an unrecoverable death spiral of nauseating predictability. Almost like reading two separate novels. The first, a delightfully imaginative and playfully cognitive page-turner. The latter, an Old Brown Shoe of a disappointment.
Regardless, anything piece of garbage can be transformed into art if Ari Fliakos is narrating it. He is the true hero of this novel.

Only slightly alternative reality. Might be in the wrong category but engaging and interesting story even if

the main character is a little too whiny and self-absorbed, like most of us.