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    Numb: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Numb: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Numb: A Novel
    Ebook249 pages3 hours

    Numb: A Novel

    By Sean Ferrell

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A captivating debut from exciting new talent Sean Ferrell, Numb is the endearing tale of a man with no memory or ability to feel pain, who attracts a colorful crowd of sycophants and exploiters while trying to come to terms with who he really is. Fans of the work of Richard Powers, Gary Shteyngart, and Thomas Pynchon—and of the films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Truman Show, and the cinematic oeuvre of Charlie Kaufman—will love the unique and entertaining Numb.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 3, 2010
    ISBN9780062005427
    Unavailable
    Numb: A Novel
    Author

    Sean Ferrell

    Sean Ferrell's story "Building an Elephant" won the Fulton Prize from The Adirondack Review; his short stories have appeared in Bossa Nova Ink, WORDS, Uber, and The Cafe Irreal. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. Numb is his first novel.

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    Reviews for Numb

    4/5

    23 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Sean Ferrell grabs you by the collar and forces you to feel the physical, psychological, and emotional pain that Numb is unable or unwilling to feel. He jars you with the bizarre, distracts you with pretty women, and while you’re looking the other way, pounds nails into your heart. Unlike Numb, you feel each swing of the hammer. It’s like Palahniuk meets Steinbeck in a lion cage. They sit, have coffee, and play chicken with a pairing knife. You are wondering who is going to lose a finger and if the other will sew it back on. The read is refreshing and real, and I can honestly say I can’t wait for his next book.
    • 5/5
      Numb is a man who feels no pain and doesn’t remember where he came from or anything about his past. His only link to his personal history is a bloody business card he finds in his pocket. After performing with a circus and befriending fellow performer, Mal, the two travel to New York together. Numb’s journey to understanding himself is full of people who appear to want to help but just might have other motives for befriending him. Will Numb be able to make sense of the intentions of the people he encounters? Wonderfully written…brilliant! Numb is a captivating novel! Readers will fall in love with Numb from the start and root for him until the end. Numb is a character that won’t easily be forgotten.
    • 4/5
      A lot stuffed in a small package. Don't let the page count fool you, this book will make you think - and feel - like you read a substantial tome. The story seems simple enough, an amnesiac who feels no pain searches for his identity, literally and spiritually. In a sense, it is the story of us all. Forget the part about the amnesia, memory or not, searching for ourselves, understanding who we are, defining our place in life and amongst society is a timeless and ageless theme.Ferrell gives it a new face and twist in this intriguing story meant to leave you wondering about what really matters: in terms of who we are and how we live our lives, how important is it really to know where we came from or who we might be. Doesn't it matter more to simply be in the moment so we can see, and enjoy, what is right in front of us every moment of every day.
    • 4/5
      He blew into the failing circus on a Texas dust storm, bleeding and battered...he said "I'm numb".That became his name, since he did not remember who he really was, or where he came from.Numb worked around the circus and ended up as a freak who felt no pain, nailing his hands and feet to boards. He made friends with Mal, a fire eater,and they ended up leaving the circus and going to New York together. Numb had found a bloody business card in the pocket of his suit, and was sure he would find out who he was.Numb and Mal made money, nailing Numb's hands and feet to the bar and floor of the sleazy place, betting that he would not feel it.Numb quickly tired of the game and went out on his own. Finding an agent, who hired PI's to check on leads into Numb's identity, he went mainstream.Getting into a snobby crowd, Numb seemed out of his element. He moved in with a blind artist, and he became her muse. When Mal comes back into his life, Numb sees things in a different light.The story of Numb and Mal is both sad and sometimes funny as hell. Offbeat and well written, this book was terrific!I received this book from Erica at Harper Perennial for review. Thanks so much!
    • 5/5
      NUMB is anything but. The story of Numb, the nameless man who feels no pain, offers up a celebration of life's ambiguities and a challenge to our mad, media-fueled quest for meaning through notoriety. Numb's ability to experience any harm or physical indignity came through in lyrical and engaging prose which often left me achiing in his stead. Ferrell has a striking power to illuminate his unusual settings and the people in them. I felt the anguish withheld from Numb, and the cravings of his friend Mal--so desperate to find what Numb himself doesn't want yet achieves so easily. The relationship between Numb and the blind artist Hiko develops beautifully, for all that it is haunted. Ultimately, I found myself hoping Numb would at long last find the gift of pain. Haunting, gorgeous, and challenging, this was a book I didn't want to put down. Ferrell asks difficult questions and offers unexpected answers. Numb is a book I expect to return to again.