Life Expectancy

Title: Life Expectancy

Author: Dean Koontz

Pages: 401

Genre: Thriller

Grade: B

Synopsis: In the same minute and in the same hospital where Jimmy Tock is born his grandfather dies and makes a few predictions about the baby. On his deathbed he correctly predicts the baby's length, weight and time of birth. He also says that there will be 5 difficult and dark days in his grandson's life. This story describes how Jimmy Tock and is family prepare for and endure these 5 terrible days.

Why I Chose this Book: Alison read this book a little while back and seemed to enjoy it. I've wanted to read something by Dean Koontz because he's a pretty popular author and I've never been exposed to him.

My Review: This is a strange book. Things that you wouldn't ever expect happen almost every page. The book is a lot like Forrest Gump where many of the things that happen are simply too unbelievable. The difference is that while they are happening you are thinking that this couldn't ever happen but a few pages later you begin to believe that maybe these things could happen. Everything just seems to have its own explanation. The book is very funny and is an easy quick read. I'm still chuckling as I sit here remembering some of the funny parts.

From the Book: "(p.1) On the night that I was born, my paternal grandfather, Josef Tock, made ten predictions that shaped my life. Then he died in the very minute that my mother gave birth to me."

"(p. 351) There are days when it seems to me that in literature the most convincing depiction of the world in which we live is to be found in the phantasmagorical kingdom through which Lewis Carroll took Alice on a tour."