The New and Improved Romie Futch (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781941040157)

Down on his luck and still pining for his ex-wife, South Carolina taxidermist Romie Futch spends his evenings drunkenly surfing the Internet before passing out on his couch. In a last-ditch attempt to pay his mortgage, he replies to an ad and becomes a research subject in an experiment conducted by the Center for Cybernetic Neuroscience in Atlanta, Georgia. After "scientists" download hifalutin humanities disciplines into their brains, Romie and his fellow guinea pigs start debating the works of Foucault and hashing out the intricacies of postmodern subjectivity. The enhanced taxidermist, who once aspired to be an artist, returns to his hometown ready to revolutionize his work and revive his failed marriage. As Romie tracks down specimens for his elaborate animatronic taxidermy dioramas, he develops an Ahab-caliber obsession with bagging "Hogzilla," a thousand-pound feral hog that has been terrorizing Hampton County. Cruising hog-hunting websites, he learns that this lab-spawned monster possesses peculiar traits. Pulled into an absurd and murky underworld of biotech operatives, FDA agents, and environmental activists, Romie becomes entangled in the enigma of Hogzilla's origins.

Exploring the interplay between nature and culture, biology and technology, reality and art, The New and Improved Romie Futch probes the mysteries of memory and consciousness, offering a darkly comic yet heartfelt take on the contemporary human predicament.

Author: Julia Elliott
ISBN-10: 1941040152
ISBN-13: 9781941040157
Publisher: Tin House Books
Language: English
Published: 10/01/2015
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2015
Publishers Weekly 08/10/2015
Library Journal 11/01/2015 pg. 82
New York Times Book Review 12/13/2015 pg. 35