- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow & Company (Sep 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 038097651X
- ISBN-13: 978-0380976515
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 13.6 x 3.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,543,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Organ Grinders
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
A slapstick thriller featuring monkeys, mayhem and ecowarriors. Paul and Georgette are both committed environmentalists. Landis is committed to saving his own skin from a genetic disease. From the author of "Pest Control".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Paul had big butterflies in his stomach. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Paul had big butterflies in his stomach. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Landis bears a resemblance to Montgomery Burns from 'The Simpsons' but is far more money hungry. Strange idea for a book but a right rollocking rollercoaster of a read! I can't wait to read more of his novels.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
48 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Funny, Exciting, and a bit upsetting! A fine combination.
30 July 1998
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed "The Organ Grinders". It is just as funny as his first book, "Pest Control", but definitely has some darker overtones. I would classify this book as a combination of Mystery, Science Fact/Fiction, and Comedy. It sounds like an odd combination, but read the book and you'll see what I mean!!! I normally stay away from both Mysteries and Science Fiction. I am more interested in Historical Novels, Fantasy, and the like. "Pest Control" was recommended to me by a friend and I guessed correctly that I would enjoy another book by the same author.
What did I like about "The Organ Grinders"? I am an engineer, so from the "nerd perspective", the accurate science in the book was great and a bit scary. He has obviously done a TON of research and it really shows. Just as he did in "Pest Control", most chapter begin with a bit of science. I also liked, and disliked, many of the characters in the! book. If anyone has trouble disliking the unredeemable Mr.Landis, they have a serious problem. He's a quality villain, if ever there was one. Paul Symon and Georgette are well developed characters and were very real. Some of the other characters are people I would never want to meet and would certainly never make some of the life-choices they make in the book, but they contribute to the story in so many ways. The book is also very funny. Just as I had to read "Pest Control over again to catch more of the Bob Dylan jokes, I know I need to read this one again to catch more of the Paul Simmon tidbits. I have the same last name as one of the characters, which was a bit of a bonus chuckle.
What didn't I like? There are some things that I don't really want to know about or think about. Thanks to this book, I am now more aware of some ethical, emotional, and environmental issues that can't be wished away (my preferred approach). The book is sure to upset every reade! r about something. In many ways the upset is a good thing.! The areas of unpleasantness that are almost a character in this book are things we should be upset about.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Absurd, comically real, wry, and thought-provoking--Read It!
10 Feb 1999
Format:Hardcover
Imagine a mind-meld of P. G. Wodehouse, Carl Hiaasan, and Kurt Vonegut, and you'll get an idea of Bill Fitzhugh's writing style. It's absurd, comically real, wry, and thought-provoking at the same time. In The Organ Grinders, Fitzhugh deftly weaves together the lives of half-a-dozen main characters in a rich tapestry that includes the ethics of the organ-transplant industry, industrial greed, the search for eternal life, eco-terrorism, population control, biotechnology, trailer-park culture, animal rights, and the stresses of everyday life in America today. Like a Wodehouse novel, the action is a fast-paced comedy of errors; like a Hiaasan novel, the characters are comically quirky, yet driven; and like Vonegut's recent Timequake, The Organ Grinders raises issues that deserve serious thought, but in a way that makes you want to laugh out loud (yet still be concerned with finding a solution). This is a stunning new voice; a bit dark, but nevertheless thoughtful. I borrowed this book from the library, but after reading it, feel it's a must-have for my own collection of literary gems. I couldn't put it down. And now I can't wait to read Fitzhugh's first novel, Pest Control.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Go Fitzhugh !!!
11 Aug 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I'd just finished Pest Control and dove right into Organ Grinders, and it's just as funny as the first book. Perhaps even more darkly satirical (if possible!) than Pest Control, which, even though it dealt with characters such as hit men, had a somewhat lighter touch.
Integral to the book's plot is an international traffic in organs and organ donors. I don't know if things have come to the state depicted in Fitzhugh's book, but if they aren't, they probably will soon. Aside from being hilariously funny, Fitzhugh's book made me consider some of the issues surrounding organ transplants and organ donors for the first time.
Until now, I wouldn't have thought it possible for someone to write a funny book about a subject like organ transplants.
If you liked Fitzhugh's zany brand of dark humor in Pest Control, you'll like this one too.
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