Bill Scheft

Everything Hurts
By Bill Scheft
Simon & Schuster - 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-9934-0
ISBN-10: 1-4165-9934-7

So this was probably the most fun I've had reading a book in a long while! I couldn't put it down!!!

I laughed so hard, I thought I'd cry! And then I did cry when some of the of the comedic antics and self-psycho-analysis got a little too close for comfort!

When Phil Camp gets back pain, he's a forty-something, divorced, writer who takes irreverant punches at those he writes about. He also finds the source of his pain may be his deep seated fear, rage, anger, desires, [can we get any more idioms here?] and, oh yes, could it possibly be that he might actually be a grandfather?

Bill Scheft writes, as only Bill Scheft can. In that quirky way that leads you to wonder what's really going on in this guy's head?

Phil Camp discovers as a pre-teen that his teenaged brother doesn't really share the same Dad he has. And that their Dad, isn't so great of a man after all. Jim, Phil's brother, loses a certain function with a rather delicate part of his anatomy because Dad, and Mom, are too involved in their golf games to take time out for the kids.

The brothers become estranged over the years. Well, especially after Phil [aka: Marty Fleck] has sex with Jim's fiancee the night before they take off to get married! So, when their first daughter becomes a mother, Jim's now ex-wife sends a rather cryptic "Happy Birthday Grandpa" to Phil. [Are you with me here?]

Phil [alias Marty] has been divorced for a while, but considers his brother the only smoozer with the women. The brothers meet once in eight years, and yeah, it ain't pretty.

Fast forward to the pain in Phil's lower back, and gluteus maximus, which causes his left leg to suddenly take off on it's own at times, and the brothers meet up again. This time after a psychotherapist has written a self-help book for those in pain. It's all from rage... he touts.

Still with me?

The brothers come full circle in the end. And there really is a happy ending to this crazy, mixed up tale!

You won't want to put it down!

But be careful... you may end up wondering, just what the heck really is the cause of that niggling little pain in your back?

Find what's really eating you... pick up a copy today!… (mehr)

I read this book as I was starting to really have problems with the back pain that had been bothering me a little bit for months. It was just the book for my frame of mind.This is funny book. No question. It's a very satirical humor, which I enjoy. As with most satire, even its most ridiculous moments have roots in reality. I enjoyed both of the self-help gurus: The doctor who claims all physical pain is caused by issues in the psyche. Resolve those, and the pain will go away. The problem is, who can ever really resolve all resentments, anger, and so on?Better yet was "Marty Fleck", Phil's alter-ego for his parody of a self-help book, Where Can I Stow My Baggage?. No one is more surprised than he is when people take it seriously, and are actually helped by it.There's a romantic storyline, and (as you'd expect) that has twists and turns as well. Janet was a little flat compared to the other characters, but not enough so to be an issue.The (rather ridiculously complex) family relationships and accompanying issues made for interesting reading, and again, there were roots in reality that made the craziness worth reflecting on.This book won't work for everyone. The humor won't work for some, the issues being satirized won't speak to others. If it doesn't sound like it would appeal to you, you're probably right. If it sounds good to you, pick it up to read. I'm glad I did.… (mehr)

Phil Camp is a writer of a self-help book and column that he never intended to be taken seriously, but the world just doesn't get that and takes his every pronouncement seriously. Also, he has been developing a series of psychosomatic (?) pains, and his personal life is a mess, and his older brother whom he once idolized is his literary nemesis, a sort of Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh right-wing bloviator who savages Phil's every column, but the rest of the world doesn't know they are brothers. This is a hoot of a book, replete with great comic lines, and is a pretty engagingly loony story as well, with a nicely tuned ending that wraps up most of the surreal hilarity quite satisfyingly. Reminds me of the style of "I Love You, Beth Cooper", which is quite a compliment indeed.… (mehr)