The Gopher King: A Dark Comedy by Gojan Nikolich
TITLE INFORMATION
The Gopher King: A Dark Comedy
Gojan Nikolich
Black Rose Writing, 323 pages
97816843355732, 11.12.20
BOOK REVIEW
Overall Rating = 4.75
Storyline & Concept = 5
Writing & Delivery = 4.75
Editorial = 4.5
In The Gopher King, a Vietnam veteran who suffers from PTSD and is mourning the death of his wife, reacts to over-medication and other triggers in the form of a murder and wildfires in his Colorado hometown. While he is struggling to distinguish reality from fantasy, he develops a relationship with a supernatural rodent that commands his own army and teams up with Stan to fight a real estate developer.
The Gopher King is billed as a dark comedy, and as I began to read, I was immediately entranced by the author’s writing skills, but I found myself double-checking the title. The darkness I could understand, but I didn’t see the humor. A few more pages into the book, I laughed out loud, and it suddenly made sense. The overall theme of the novel is dark, intense, and, at times, gruesome. The protagonist, Stan Przewalski, has suffered, and continues to suffer, from his experiences in Vietnam and as the result of the death of his wife. He is ridden with guilt and has suicidal tendencies. Thus, the darkness. The comedy comes in the form of the gopher, his followers, and Stan’s interactions with them. This is hilarious. It requires a sense of humor that is capable of suspending reality, but the result is more than worthwhile. The writing is excellent, the descriptions are superbly well-drawn, and the pace is riveting. A must-read!
Sublime Line: “This impressive debut novel is a skillfully-written and original page-turner that will take you on unforgettable adventures.”
Sublime Book Review
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