
Blood Test
A Comedy
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Narrated by:
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Rob Shapiro
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By:
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Charles Baxter
From the winner of the PEN/Malamud Award and “one of our most gifted writers” (Chicago Tribune) comes a comic novel about a divorced Midwestern dad who takes a cutting-edge medical test and learns that he has a predisposition to murder.
In this fresh take on love and trouble in America, Brock Hobson, an insurance salesman and Sunday-school teacher, finds his equilibrium disturbed by the results of a predictive blood test. Baxter, a master storyteller, brings us a gradually building rollercoaster narrative, and a protagonist who is impertinent, searching, and hilariously relatable. From his good-as-gold, gentle girlfriend to the macho subcontractor guy his ex-wife left him for, not to mention his well-raised teenage kids, now exploring sex and sexuality, the secondary characters in Brock's life all contribute meaningfully to the drama, as increasing challenges to his sense of self and purpose crash over him. The final battle—no spoilers, but there is one—couldn't be more delightful, as this quick and bracing novel reminds us to choose the best people to love, accept the ones we love even if we didn’t choose them, and love them all well.
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Critic reviews
“Riotously funny. . . . At its core, this is a disarmingly sweet novel about family, an entertainment with just the right amount of Midwestern menace.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Baxter’s sharp observations and ear for dialogue are on full display.” —Publishers Weekly
“Blood Test is a funny, morally luminous, altogether irresistible caper that somehow, wonderfully, calls to mind both Nietzsche and Charles Portis. What a maestro Charles Baxter is.” —Joseph O'Neill, author of Godwin
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Lack of story progression
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I didn’t hate it, but don’t recommend it
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A funny, weird, satire with heart
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There has been no other time in history, with the uncertainty of COVID, that we needed comedy more!!
Baxter delivers again! Funny, wry, dry, always beautifully written, and always, always intelligent and cant-put-it-down-interesting.
Baxter continues to surprise, but not really since we do know that we never really know just how thought provoking, twisted, and sincere he can be!
The concept here is simply scary! For how many of us WOULD act if given a "HALL PASS," or as stated here, "A License to Kill?"
Baxter's prose, as usual, is unsurpassed. The same is true for his character development. I was right there with him, at the ready, to make sure THIS TIME another character pronounced his name correctly.
Baxter is a master at plot development as well. I found myself hoping, along with Joe, that Brock would actually take a shot at the awful Burt. A good shot!
For me, there has ONLY EVER been one bad thing that's come with reading a novel or story by Charles Baxter. And that's that it ends.
That's the reason I read his words over and over again; finding something new and delightful every time I do.
Until his next release, which I hope is coming soon, I'll again read MY FAVE: "THE FEAST OF LOVE," and then work my way through each of his works again and again!
Thank you for this amazing read!!
Another Gem From America's Best Storyteller, Charles Baxter
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Creepy.. and also boring as hell
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And I normally love most books that fall into a humor or comedy category. I would not recommend this book to a soul. Steer clear and save your money.
Read only if you don’t want to like one single character
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Terrible book
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