Blog Tour: Henry’s Re-Entry by Welcome Cole (review)

Henry’s Re-Entry
written by Welcome Cole
published by Caelstone Press

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Book Depository, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: I participated in the blog tour hosted by Virtualbookworm Blog Tours. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

Did I enjoy this book: Yes.

I had a hard time figuring out how to explain my reaction to this book. So I came up with a quiz. Put on your “thinking caps” because we’re going back to Elementary School. Remember those quizzes your teacher used to give you with a list of words on the left and you had to draw a line to the correct answer on the right showing a relationship? If you don’t remember, that’s ok. Just play along. Here’s the quiz:

Characters                  Zany

Setting                         Comical

Plot                               Weird

Conflict                       Unpredictable

Overall story              Engaging

Here’s the good news: There’s no wrong answer!! The whole book is zany, comical, weird, unpredictable, and engaging; not to mention thoroughly entertaining.

Would I recommend it: Yes.

Will I read it again: No.

About the book – from Goodreads: When Henry wakes up on the floor of a dirty gas station bathroom, covered in vomit and hugging a greasy toilet, and with absolutely no idea where he is or how he ended up there, he knows this is going to be the best outing ever. This outing is going to be Epic! Henry is a man on the run. The beast chasing him wears the face of his murdered wife. Fueled by guilt, the beast has him running the gauntlet of an ever-hopeful, but chronically unsuccessful suicide marathon. He’s spent the last four years running away from his life. During the workweek, he merely exists, performing the inevitable and necessary functions of life, moving through his world like an automaton. But when that assembly line of existence ultimately reaches its end on Friday afternoon, Henry launches into orbit on a liquor propelled rocket. His flight begins when he straps himself into his favorite barstool late Friday and ends with his splashdown sometime late Sunday night, and the time spent in between is a fog of chaotic memories. During this latest flight, however, he experiences some unexpected turbulence. This time he crash-lands seven hundred miles from home, unencumbered by a car or wallet. Hungover, angry, and broke, he’s forced to hitchhike his way back, trolling for rides along the hot, dusty backland highways of New Mexico. But the real story begins with the procession of characters he encounters along the way. The cowboy bartender, the lovesick preacher, the militant social worker, the escaped convict, the psychic, and the woman with the kryptonite eyes, all find their way past his barricades. Each one manages to make contact with him and help him find another piece of himself. Each one helps him find the strength necessary to finally bury his dead and re-enter his life. Equal parts hilarious, passionate, and emotionally intense, this is the story of a man’s unexpected rescue at the hands of an assortment of eccentric, compelling people, people he’d normally have crossed the street to avoid.