All Encompassing Trip

Nicole Del Sesto
Afterbirth Books (2007)
ISBN 193392912X
Reviewed by Louise Landeta for Reader Views (2/07)

This book is in a relatively newly termed genre called Bizarro.  I say newly termed because the genre itself is not new but it never had a classification of its own before.  Nor is the bizarre genre new to me—I have enjoyed many other stories such as this for the weirdness of them.  Ms. Del Sesto’s did not disappoint.

Put more positively, “All Encompassing Trip” is one of the most delightful Bizarro books I have read in years.  The characters are original and well drawn and the story underneath all the strange behaviors and occurrences well crafted.  Perhaps what appeals to me so much is its similarity to some of my more memorable dreams. 

Imagine a leprechaun running around with a baggie filled with eyes plucked from folks who have the gift of “sight,” trying to please a 7-1/2 foot Jamaican man covered head to toe in green tattoos, a Berkeley-ite very gassy vegan woman around whom no one can breathe and a coyote in a do-rag and you will get a sense of what I mean. 

Indeed, there is a serious message tucked within these pages.  Like any of our dreams, it is couched in symbols and metaphors and is most entertaining.  The author’s main point is that each of us has a unique purpose in life.  We must listen to the word and look for the light within us.  We must love ourselves and others.  Some people find one piece of truth or partial truth and so focus on it to the exclusion of everything else they miss the whole picture they are meant to live.  Some people are so self-centered they spend their whole lives looking for love in all the wrong places. 

The book manages to convey these serious adages with such aplomb that the reader never feels “lectured to.”  The core story is presented as a puzzle.  The protagonist and her friend must put the pieces together in order to regain their “normal” lives. 

The author weaves an enchanting story with the skillful use of puns, witticisms and wry humor.  She is obviously well educated and highly intelligent.  I want to read more of her works.  “All Encompassing Trip” was such a page-turner I didn’t want to put it down.  Well done!

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