The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand

Save for his inability to remain dead after he commits suicide, 17-year-old Adam Strand is a completely unremarkable loser; he has tried 39 times, mostly by jumping off bridges, tall buildings, and cliffs. But he reanimates every time. His first attempt is as a ten-year-old, who describes the urge as "a low murmur," from inside himself, "a tone, an enveloping note…that almost shook me as it emanated inside me." Other than enjoying the sensation of the jump, the crisp, cold air tasting "like a tart apple," readers get bupkes about Adam's incredibly provocative condition. Galloway (As Simple as Snow, 2005) similarly shuts down other ways for readers to find gratification. For instance, early in the book Adam and some friends find a dead cow stuck in the river where they spend all day fishing. Rotten and being gradually stripped to bone, the cow is a potent symbol for Adam's life; it's going to take something big to dislodge him from his spot. Unmotivated and gloomy, Adam's shocking lack of initiative and acts of malicious selfishness commonly found in people who claim to be bored make him the most unlikeable protagonist since author Townsend's Adrian Mole.