Book Report: Out of Body

Written by screenwriter and producer Thomas Baum, 'Out of Body' is one suspense novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. I bought it to see if anything could be learned in regards to my own story, which deals with writing not-so-believable things happening in a believable way. I was not disappointed.

'As the story begins, Denton Hake is released from prison, having served his time for a rape he cannot believe he committed. While living with his brother and trying to start over, a new girlfriend is found murdered and Hake, the logical suspect, goes on trial for his life. He loses periods of time, a dissociation sometimes found in survivors of childhood trauma. His therapist tries to help him understand the lapses and their connection to his father's mysterious death, while a new wrinkle sets in. Now he can leave his body and witness events in other locations. Fearing for his sanity, he starts to believe that he might be violent while in these fugue states.'

First sentence: "Five minutes into my parole hearing, despite all Carl Williams's warnings, I started to drift."

Drifting is what this story does best. This story moves at lightening speed, composed of copious amounts of dialogue and mere flashes of physical transition. In the beginning, I faulted the author for being *too* brief, but quickly realized the 'blink-and-you-miss-it' actions are part of Denton's character. He blacks out, starting for only seconds at a time, enough to appear to be daydreaming or retarded. But as the story progresses, not only to the blackouts get longer, but Denton also seems to seperate from his body and view things in one place while his body, on auto-pilot, remains stationary. As he comes back to his physical self, Denton has no recollection of conversations, poker games, or anything else he was 'really' doing. Instead, he's seen where his sister in-law has hidden her bottle of vodka, or who his girlfriend is sleeping with behind his back. These 'out of body' experiences soon have him with only a small handful of friends, and even those think he's crazy.

It's easy to get into the flow of Denton's visions, and for such a complex, daunting plot, first-time novelist Baum weaves quite a razor-sharp, razor-smooth story. Each character is unique, the plot tight, the realism heavy. The characters are smart, and the scenes between Denton and his therapist are cutting and thought-provoking. The climax ping-pongs between a tense courtroom scene and the release of long-buried memories, creating a surprise ending I never saw coming. This is a tight, whirl-wind of a novel--the kind of story that ventures everywhere you want and skims the parts of little importance. Very easy to read in one sitting.

Five out of five stars for so flawlessly weaving together the supernatural and the 'real world', and for simultaneously keeping both feet anchored on the ground.