The haunted offspring of Vonnegutt and Heller.
In Vonnegut's writing and even more so with Heller's, while funny, you cannot help but know that the
humor is hiding a pain so
great that it threatens to crush the narrator and you, if you're not weary. Connelly, while having a different writing style, has the same dark humor that fans of the above authors may respect. One good example is a scene in which Frank and his paramedic coworkers get drunk and create their own emergency site in the bar, complete with sheet covered pseudo-corps and one giving the
dead last writes while splashing the dead with holy water, aka liquor. I haven't done it justice but you'll just have to trust me when I say it is a funny scene indeed. Now, if you're the bipolar or
easily depressed type you may not want to
read this book. While it does give great insight into the lives of those who work to rescue us every day, the narrator (Frank) leads a downtrodden
life that would make any would-be paramedic rethink his/her career choice. Every street is home to multiple nightmarish job calls and Frank starts to lose his grip on what is memory and what is actually happening in the moment. Ghosts seem to stalk him wherever he goes, managing to ruin almost every aspect of his life. I would
recommend this to anyone who loves a great and emotional story with lots of wry, black humor mixed in. However, be warned that this is not for the easily broken hearted. If you do decide to read BOtD I would recommend that you pay close attention to characters mentioned only in passing at the outset of the book, as many become key characters towards the end.