I don’t think I’ve read a book so blatantly like Kurt Vonnegut. She pointed at my son Zak and said ‘I’m pretty sure he is.’īut why, so shamelessly, ape a famous author’s style? My wife went to get our coffees and when she came back I asked her which one was mine. My wife and I took our two children to a coffee shop. The latest blog post from Bo showcases his side-splitting sense of humour: Is Fredrick Nietzsche related to Friedrich Nietzsche? On his author profile he cites his influences as Richard Brautigan, Kurt Vonnegut and Fredrick Nietzsche. Which if I’m not mistaken is direct plagiarism of Kurt Vonnegut.īo Fowler has published three books since 1998. Skimming though the book, my eye also fell on the use of ‘Imagine that.’ So devoted was he to being Kurt Vonnegut, he even stole features of Kurt’s writing. Whenever I pointed this out to him he would say, ‘How do you know?’īo Fowler studied philosophy, then later Creative Writing in East Anglia under Malcolm Bradbury.ĭid Malcolm Bradbury sit on top of him while teaching?īo thought that stringing a series of semi-comic surreal images around a wacky satirical plot made for a decent book. He devoted whole chapters to sentences like this:Įdgar Malroy always misspelt Scepticism.

One was Kitty Fitzgerald, and one was completely nuts. I have loved two women in my long and somewhat ridiculous life. He wasn’t only influenced by Kurt Vonnegut, he was convinced he was Kurt Vonnegut. One day, a writer who chose to publish under the name Bo Fowler appeared.įor some unfathomable reason, his book was published by Vintage, a division of Random House. Not only that, they liked to take paragraph breaks after each sentence.Īs though each stand-alone sentence contained some special significance or profound wisdom nestling in the syllables. There once was a generation of writers influenced by Kurt Vonnegut. Meanwhile, there's an optimistic supermarket trolley climbing Mt.

After placing a bet, the bettor is given a receipt verifying the bet and amount, and a button with a question mark, stamped 'Who knows?' It's no wonder that Edgar goes on to become the richest man in the world.Īs the competitive rage spreads, the betting shops indirectly cause a dangerous faith war, resulting in multiple popes, a beautiful messianic woman who claims to be God's messenger, and a technological meltdown with artificially intelligent home appliances. The metaphysical betting shops become incredibly popular as people of all faiths rush to outdo each other. If someone really believes that the 16th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is the one true incarnation, or that God is love, or that his grandfather's spirit lives in a tree, Edgar reasons he should be willing to bet money on it.Įdgar is right. A weary atheist, Edgar challenges people to put their money where their mouths are about their faith. Edgar Malroy is the founder of a metaphysical betting shop.

Scepticism Inc by Bo Fowler