The Full Ridiculous

March 24, 2014
Screen writer Lamprell debuts with a first-rate novel told almost exclusively in the second person. It begins with Michael O'Dell being hit by a car, an accident that sets off a yearlong descent into an "Alice-less Wonderland" of personal and familial trouble. Michael is a sardonic film critic who gave up his reviewing gig to work a book about the decline of Australian cinema, a fitting subject given his growing conviction that "the good part of your life is over; the bad part has begun." To wit: his daughter picks a fight with a girl from a particularly vengeful family; his son may be using, or worse, dealing drugs; and then there is Constable Lance Johnstone, the off-kilter policeman whose buffoonery makes his obsessive hounding of the O'Dells no less sinister. As Michael and his family work to resolve their crises, Lamprell manages to temper sentimentalism with a tonic wryness. Despite the relatively uncommon second-person narration, the dysfunctional family plot feels familiar. However, in Lamprell's hands, the reader won't necessarily mind. Agent: Margaret Connolly, Margaret Connolly & Associates (Australia).

July 2, 2013
Beginning your debut novel with your protagonist bouncing off the windscreen of a car is a rough opener, but it sets Mark Lamprell up to create a ridiculous downward spiral for poor Michael O’Dell. Struggling to cope with the reality of his accident, Michael’s good life begins to slip beyond his control. His daughter Rosie assaults a bitchy classmate, earning the attention of a loose-cannon cop. Michael’s pot-smoking son Declan is stashing illicit drugs in his bedroom and determinedly not studying for his Year 12 finals. Then Michael loses his job and, reduced to a single income, he and wife Wendy face losing their home. As his mental condition worsens and medical and legal costs rise, Michael is pushed to the very edge of his sanity. The use of the second-person narrative in this novel might irritate some readers, but it successfully works to draw you into Michael’s turbulent life. At times heartbreaking, Lamprell’s story still delivers enough light-hearted, often internal, banter to keep you from drifting too close to despair. The Full Ridiculous will appeal to readers of quirky, contemporary fiction such as The Rosie Project and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It reminds us that sometimes, to really appreciate the beautiful highs of life, you need to hit rock bottom first. 

Louise Fay is the special orders manager at Dymocks Adelaide