Preincarnate by Shaun Micallef

I finished this book over two weeks ago and I haven't been able to write about it. I'm not a professional writer and I don't know any 'tricks' to start the writing process. AND I don't really know how to describe Preincarnate by Shaun Micallef.

It is clever (Shaun is clever - we all know this), it is funny (Shaun is funny too), it is quirky (Shaun is - well, quirky). But lots of books are clever, funny and quirky. There is something that sets this book apart and makes it work. What is it?

Micallef gets all the elements right. He is a master alluder - HG Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle and Tom Cruise are all in the book. He has used literary figures that are out of copyright - all except for Cruise (watch out Mr Micallef). There is time travel, cloning, space ships and the Loch Ness Monster. The characters have all the qualities the book has - they are clever, funny and quirky.

I have a friend - Jane (not her real name but, hey, I don't have her permission to write about her) - who makes jokes a lot. She is funny and sarcastic and silly. She is also genuine, caring, compassionate and generous. She is real in every sense of word. The funniest thing about Jane is that she cracks herself up. It is most funny to watch her laugh at herself. And when she gets together with someone on her own particular humour wavelength it always turns into a gut busting laugh-a-thon. You know the kind of night when you laugh so hard that your cheeks hurt the next morning. But really, for Jane, it doesn't really matter if you thought she was funny or not. She just loves to laugh and amuse herself.

I reckon Jane and Shaun would get along great.

I think (I don't know for sure 'cause I haven't actually asked him) that Micallef doesn't really care if we read this book or not. I'm sure that he would be delighted that we think the book is clever, funny and quirky, but, I don't think it matters that much to him. His brain had this book in it and he had to cough it up like the proverbial fur ball. And I think this is what appeals to me most. He didn't write this book so I would read it. There is nothing gratuitous about it. It is a look into a God-blessed hilarious brain. Micallef is pure and simply telling us a story from his convoluted mind. He is making it up as he goes. I love him for it. I love this book.

OK
if you like a linear story - pick up another book.

if you love Tom Cruise - pick up another book.

if you don't believe in life after death - well, you can still read this book but beware.

if you are a strong believer in the principals of Christianity - run away now.

if you love roller coasters and fast rides of all kinds - read this book.

if you like laughing along the way - read this book.

if you like spitting in the face of tradition - read this book.

if you want to giggle for a while in this world of natural disasters and human tragedy - read this book twice at least.

I may not understand Micallef's inner workings but I want to thank him for sharing this little part of them as a book. And please, Shaun, if you have another literary fur ball, cough it up and write another one.

Oh, and P.S. - Read the Chapter Headings carefully as you read the book - it will make a little more sense.

P.P.S (or is it P.S.S.?) - the Recommended Reading at the end of the book is hillarious and almost worth the price of the book by itself.