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Title: Midnight Examiner by William Kotzwinkle, Philippe R. Hupp ISBN: 2-86930-369-6 Publisher: Rivages Pub. Date: 01 May, 1990 Format: Paperback

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Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: Funny...but that's all.
Comment: Kotzwinkle's "Midnight Examiner" is a funny book. At times, uproariously funny, gut-bustin' funny. Roll-around-the-floor funny. But ultimately - that's all it is.

The plot: The staff of a low-brow publications house, among whose many titles is "The Midnight Examiner," bands together to save a porn star from a mafia boss, who she mistakenly shot in the knee. Slapstick action ensues as the rescuers, doped up on voodoo medicines, storm the mafia stronghold with a boomerang, fishing pole, derringer, blowgun, and Swiss Army knife.

The characters: A motley collection of has-beens, never-weres, and eccentrics. Each character comprises a unique set of quirky habits and mannerisms. There's the narrator, a polyester-clad schlep. There's the publisher, who is obsessed with blowguns. There's the new guy, fastidiously dressed, concerned only for his cats, and wickedly good with a fishing pole. There's the resident graphic artist, who has an epileptic/schizophrenic condition and draws big Aztec-like women on living room walls. And the mafia boss, who's driving anxiety is that his taste in interior decoration is low-class. In fact, there's a cornucopia of characters, a snowstorm of maladies, all amusing.

So what's wrong with funny? Nothing, of course. However, the best humor is something more than funny. It's a device used to reveal something deeper at stake by hiding it, by covering it up with laughter, and it's that ironic juxtaposition that strikes deep. The best example I can think of is Salinger - the sarcasm, the swearing, the ridiculous image of a child in a hunting cap wandering around New York City. All of it hiding the grief for a lost brother.

But...back to Kotzwinkle. Funny and entertaining, yes. Moving? Teaching something new? A great book? No, no, and no.

Rating: 5
Summary: So Much Fun You Hate For It To End!
Comment: I actually made it all the way to page 18 before bursting out laughing. This may be the most hilarious book I have ever read and, at the same time, it has exciting action, mystery and intrigue, romance, magic, and cows in dresses. When this ragtag bunch of tabloid writers decides to challenge a local Mob boss to save their favorite porn star, they call on all their varied resources. Blow guns, fishing poles, boomerangs, an Egyptian cabbie, voo doo spells and potions, and an impeccable sense of haute fashion all play key roles in Kotzwinkle's demented game plan. If you like to laugh, you are going to love this book. But, alas, there is a downside. Kotzwinkle has apparently chosen to move on to other venues and characters, thus you will feel a great sense of loss at the end of the book as you part company with this wonderful group of friends. I think that all Kotzwinkle fans should join forces and demand a sequel that brings the tabloid gang back together again for more exciting and hilarious adventures.

Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant Hillarious Story
Comment: This is a delightfull funny novel. Howard Halliday is the jaded editor a small line of dubious low-brow publications, ranging from softcore-porn to religion, most notably the tabloid "Midnight Examiner" which is notorious for sensational headlines like "UFO FOUND IN GIRL'S UTERUS". The setting and characters of Halliday's small media empire are plenty colorfull and amusing enough, but when they cross paths with the sinister machinations of a crime boss, the genius of author Kotzwinkle kicks into overdrive.

This is a delightfull read. I think it could make a marvelous movie.

-- DCM "Froggy"