This Is the Book You Always Wanted to Read but Could Not Find
Laughter of a Crazy Man is a collection of over 20 thought- provoking upbeat short stories wrapped in side-splitting humor. It opens with a narrative on the Passover celebration of a secretive church accused of being a sex cult. Later, stories recount eye witness experiences of the Phebe Hospital Massacre, the fall of Gbarnga, the capital of Greater Liberia during the Liberian civil war and a narrative of the near sinking of The Bulk Challenge, a ship with over 3000 souls running from urban warfare and street battles in Monrovia, Liberia that were refused refuge and forced to stay at sea for many days during the Liberian Civil War.
The stories show diversity from the tale of a guy born with three testicles which put him at an advantage he exploits to the account of a man who believes the problems he faces are karma for unspeakable atrocities committed as a child soldier during the war. Readers will enjoy a story of the triumph of a child with tetanus who survives despite all the odds in a broken hospital. In One Week with the General, a soldier details his fears when assigned as aide to a crazy warlord who kills without remorse and another tale, which is clearly a gem, chronicles the woe of a mentally ill patient seeking help from his psychiatrist to reclaim his foot that was “borrowed” by a professional soccer player.
There are several folkloric tales, a mythical creation story and a more scientific piece on the Ebola virus which explores urban legends on the origin of the outbreak in West Africa.
This collection of thought-provoking short stories will invoke convulsive laughter – more like an experience, not a book. You will read it over and over for the amusing, amazing and enchanting stories of humanity and human perseverance wrapped in side-splitting fun. Words like metaphoric, folkloric, transcendental can rightly be used but they will never fully describe the dark humor, riveting characters and personalities in this captivating book.
Some books are read only to kill time, others for pleasure but Laughter of a Crazy Man will inspire, teach and be read over and over again for the riveting characters who create fall-on-the-floor laughter and conquer their challenges.
