Book Overview
Linguist Jeremy Cook knows how language works, but he doesn't know how marriage works. In fact, he is strangely hostile to the institution. So Cook is naturally uneasy about his job with the Pillow... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0671643193
ISBN13:9780671643195
Release Date:January 1990
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Length:317 Pages
Weight:1.15 lbs.
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
The second volume of a trilogy
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
In this superb novel the linguist Jeremy Cook (introduced in the mystery novel, "Double Negative," 1980), is hired by a marriage-counseling firm, the Pillow Agency, which "embeds" linguists in the homes of couples with troubled marriages, the theory being that so much marital strife is due to faulty communication. Jeremy's instructions are to follow the steps enumerated in the "Pillow Manual" he is issued, but he finds he has to fall back on his own training and good nature to keep things afloat. It is not necessary to have read "Double Negative" to enjoy this installment, but it is always satifying to know more of the background of the characters when encountereing them for a second time. The third title in the series, "The Error of Our Ways," was published in 1997. Obviously Carkeet was not pressured to keep Jeremy Cook constantly beofre the public, but the novels are all the better for that.
Understated comic genius
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The Full Catastrophe is as compelling and potent as a mystery, despite the fact that the "detective" in this case is linguist Jeremy Cook, and he bumbles through several well-meaning attempts to discover what the "horror" in the Wilson's marriage is. Carkeet's wit is intoxicating, yet he manages to take a back seat to the characters and let the day-in-the-life story unfold with perfect pacing. I can't ignore the probable similarities between Jeremy Cook and Carkeet, but one thing marks a clear distinction: Jeremy knows nothing about marriage until Carkeet unveils it to him.
How can someone so smart be so naive?
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
David Carkeet is known more for his young adult fiction, but I find him a very satisfying author of light adult fiction that carries a running intellectual thread. The characters are not so quirky that they are contrived nor so stereotypical as to be completely predictable; unfortunately they do demonstrate the suspicion that a higher education does not guarantee success in any endeavor. The ironies are not particularly inspired but part of the charm of this and also his "Double Negative" is the way events unfold with an unremarkable inevitability. I enjoy this book. I put it in the category of Patrick Dennis.
Laughs on every page!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
Linguist-in-residence Jeremy Cook returns for an unlikely debut as live-in counselor to a couple trying to fix their sputtering marriage. There are laughs on every page in this entertaining dissection of holy matrimony. Jeremy moves in with the prosperous Wilsons and tries his best to get beneath their language, to analyze the "horror at the core" of their relationship
Hilariously inventive!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
A live-in linguist tries to save a marriage - a comic gem. Highly recommended
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