An Equation of Almost Infinite Complexity edition by J Mulrooney Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : An Equation of Almost Infinite Complexity edition by J Mulrooney Literature Fiction eBooks 
When the devil moves in next door to Cooper Smith Cooper's house, Cooper doesn't know what to make of him at first. But when the unexpectedly neighborly Scratch helps the unemployed actuary find a job at a local insurance company with the help of some inside information into the activities of Death, Cooper decides the old devil might not be so bad after all.
The only problem, Cooper thinks, is how to conceal from his fellow actuaries his newfound ability to perfectly predict the time and place of people's deaths. And then, there is also the small matter of the screams of his recently deceased neighbor coming from Scratch's basement furnace to consider.
AN EQUATION OF ALMOST INFINITE COMPLEXITY is a sardonically funny debut novel from J. Mulrooney.
An Equation of Almost Infinite Complexity edition by J Mulrooney Literature Fiction eBooks
This writing has a very witty, light style to it, reminding me of many Vonnegut novels such as "God Bless You, Mrs. Rosewater." It fit really well for a book that contains the devil and death as major characters, and a plot revolving around predicting death.One of the devices that the author uses consistency is changing the perspective of the reader in order to show misunderstandings and how other characters feel. One example is when the main character believes a woman is in love with him based on how she is acting towards him. Then at the start of the next chapter, we see from her perspective that she is smiling at him and being nice because she thinks he is in the mafia. As the story goes on, we see the perspective of 5 or 6 different characters, and it really helps to fill out the story.
Overall, I loved many of the characters (some relate-able, others not so much), and how they intertwined with one another. I enjoyed the unexpected twists in the story. And there are many parts of the book that linger in your mind afterwards.
This is the first book I have read by J. Mulrooney, and I'll definitely be pre-ordering the next book he puts out.
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An Equation of Almost Infinite Complexity edition by J Mulrooney Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Best book in a while. What happens when you are a failed insurance actuary and the devil and his dysfunctional spawn, Death, move in next door? Why, you turn it into a career advantage! As others have said, the humor is very "Douglas Adams-like" with a lot of chuckles and few LOLs. Well worth the read. Hey, did my lawsuit come through yet? Just checking....
The novel's highly flawed characters lack self-insight, and so they proceed blindly on an uncorrected course towards their rendezvous with Scratch (a/k/a Satan) whom they find to be, at least initially, not too bad of a fellow and helpful in many ways. Their self-absorption, whether financial, romantic or alcoholic in nature, renders them oblivious to the spiritual hazards awaiting them. Scratch, on the other hand, understands himself and his job only too well, and though he is weary of it, he labors on to find the best way to tempt each of the characters. Their final destination is predictable, though the author hints they may have a second chance, courtesy of some unnamed benefactor. J. Mulrooney has crafted a modern fable that illustrates the primacy of the Socratic imperative. In telling the story, the author employs a mordant wit to throw well-deserved darts at journalists, government employees, police officers and baby boomers.
This is a hugely entertaining book for people who like satire. I'm not going to describe the details - many other reviewers have done that - but I am seriously considering this as a present for the kids doing degrees and above in mathematics.
The overlap between math, philosophy and religion with a big dollop of social commentary...
Worth the price.
A weird world of the living and dead, saved and unsaved, hell and earth. I really liked this book. It pulled me in with it's mix of strange and normal characters and a plot that was never obvious. Many memorable quotes along with pithy observations of modern life. Mulrooney's writing is excellent. I thought his telling of Thisbe's story before meeting Cooper was great. It had a slightly different feel to it than the writing in the rest of the book. I'm looking forward to his next one.
The best debut novel I've read in years!
The author hits it out of the park with a truly original story, a crisp writing style and a sophisticated sense of humor that brings a new dimension to this age old tale of "good" versus "evil". In fact, both good and evil are almost unrecognisable in this tale of a disillusioned Satan who is desperate to retire after the revelation that his traditional role as "Prince of Darkness" is completely irrelevant and no one needs his help finding their way into Hell. Satan's greatest challenge is finding a suitable replacement which is where the fun begins as Old Scratch weighs the job requirements against the qualifications of the candidates.
This is a 100% must read for anyone who appreciates a great story told by a great story teller. An added bonus for readers is J. Mulrooney's astute observations of ordinary life which are eminently quotable.
Not an easy book to write a review for and, I think, that's a good thing...
It would be easy though to write this off as another manifestation of the Satan-in-suburbia trope because that's what it is, albeit a good example. But there's a lot more going on here.
The biggest thing though is that the author has made the brave and risky decision to not give us a single likeable character... not one. The principals and supporting cast are, almost without exception, unsympathetic, deeply flawed and two-dimensional - the sort of people that you would go out of your way to avoid in real life. But here's the thing - that's not as a result of bad or lazy writing, no - they're meant to be like that. They are well crafted examples of people who really are unsympathetic, deeply flawed and two-dimensional. That's a brave decision for a writer of popular fiction - there may be a main character but there's no hero, anti-hero or even a decent villain here to feel attached to as the narrative unfolds. Despite that, there's real humour here - not laugh-out-loud stuff but some clever satire, wit and even a little farce together with a largely original plot and some really good ideas.
I'm actually pleasantly surprised that this has all 4 and 5 star reviews so far - a lot of genre readers will, I'm sure, be frustrated by the style and a characters - but it's worth the effort and I'm looking forward to seeing what the author turns his hand to next. There's a unwritten law here that says that any reviewers with literary pretensions have to make comparisons with other work the help the potential reader find a pigeon-hole for the book. OK, temporal and biological issues aside, it's just possible that J Mulrooney may be the illegitimate love-child of Wodehouse and Chuck Palahniuk - Does that help?
This writing has a very witty, light style to it, reminding me of many Vonnegut novels such as "God Bless You, Mrs. Rosewater." It fit really well for a book that contains the devil and death as major characters, and a plot revolving around predicting death.
One of the devices that the author uses consistency is changing the perspective of the reader in order to show misunderstandings and how other characters feel. One example is when the main character believes a woman is in love with him based on how she is acting towards him. Then at the start of the next chapter, we see from her perspective that she is smiling at him and being nice because she thinks he is in the mafia. As the story goes on, we see the perspective of 5 or 6 different characters, and it really helps to fill out the story.
Overall, I loved many of the characters (some relate-able, others not so much), and how they intertwined with one another. I enjoyed the unexpected twists in the story. And there are many parts of the book that linger in your mind afterwards.
This is the first book I have read by J. Mulrooney, and I'll definitely be pre-ordering the next book he puts out.
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