The Prumont Method

I was interested in this book because of the unusual, if macabre, premise. I enjoyed the author's style and found this to be a quick and entertaining read. However, I feel like this book was more about the premise than the plot. Roger Prumont, our narrator, doesn't seem to know who he is - but that doesn't necessarily mean that the reader shouldn't know who he is either. His obsession with elaborate and sometimes obscure cocktails didn't seem to fit him other than to be yet another quirk. His theory/method/calculations are the major motivator in the novel, but there seems to be a lot of doubt even on his part that it even works. Yet at the end, he is certain it is correct. The other characters were also flat to me - Zoe, Marion, Beth, etc.
I appreciate that the book ended in the only way it could have in order to be satisfying. Any other ending would have felt like a let-down or an un-earned twist.

Trevor J. Houser's Roger (“Rog”) Prumont is a man obsessed. His obsession: trying to perfect his new mathematical formula that could, ultimately, put an end to gun violence in America. “The Prumont Method” could very well predict future mass shootings in America, and thereby prevent them from happening, and thereby make Roger’s daughter proud of him, because otherwise his life - in his own mind - will not have been worth the pencils used to etch out said formula.

The trigger that seems to jumpstart Roger’s odyssey towards potential martyrdom was his wife’s indiscretion, confessed to him during his fifty-fifth birthday party, no less. The trajectory of his life was running off-kilter for other reasons as well, as the reader will discover, but his beloved’s affair seems to have metaphorically discharged the gun.

The reader is taken on a journey narrated by Roger, as he hits the highways and roadside motels of America, following the algorithms of his “Method” (he may call it “The Prumont Method” but he’s not 100 per cent sure yet) hoping to finally arrive accurately at the next “Trigger Event,” perhaps in time to save a few people and then, with any luck, die.

Roger is a highly intelligent man, with an affinity for math – a math nerd, one could say. He might even be a genius. His mind rolls through data and memories of happier times as quickly as an accountant taps away at a calculator. The book is written that way, too - in short bursts - perhaps intentionally mimicking the way Roger’s restless mind works. Peppered throughout, are recipes for all the alcoholic beverages our (arguably unstable) protagonist consumes at any given hour of the day, along with his thoughts on the best wording for his own pending obituary.

Regardless, Roger is a friendly guy, if lonely, and he makes a friend or two on his unpredictable quest to find predictability. Eventually, his 22-year-old journalist daughter shows up at his motel doorstep, which only adds to the novel’s alternatingly dry and punchy humour.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the way it unfolded. It reminds me of a Coen Brothers film. Dark humour is used skilfully, yet sensitively, to address a serious and poignant topic that haunts America: gun violence. By creating a fictional character such as Roger Prumont, who essentially sailed through life up until his mid-fifties on a clear, sunny ocean of love, marriage, child and steady job, only to get swept up in a storm of personal dilemmas, Houser has created a fairly likeable protagonist, despite his neurotic penchant for statistics, historical mathematical geniuses, cocktails in the morning and the psychoses of gun-wielding madmen. He successfully marries fact with fiction in a fresh, creative way and builds empathy for Roger, who once came so close to proving his own theory, that he was left traumatized, and understandably haunted, by the thought of his own daughter being a potential victim of gun violence.

There were moments throughout the story where I felt like I needed to research the names of the famous mathematicians mentioned, as I was not familiar with them, and therefore could not relate to the humour as much as I would have liked. But that isn't necessarily such a bad thing; a book that inspires one to read more on a topic.

Ultimately, I was left wondering, if a mathematical theory could predict the next gun massacre in America, how would that play out? How would the inventor of that formula go about convincing authorities of its validity, without looking like an insane person? It’s also disconcerting to even think about “the next gun massacre.” But that is the sad state of America that Houser has boldly laid open for the reader to examine.

In the wake of that stark reality so vividly painted by Houser, I was also left with another message, so poignant in its simplicity and grace: we should never underestimate the power of love and connection in our lives.

I’d recommend this book to lovers of that kind of intelligent, darkly comic fiction that holds a mirror up to society (in this case, American), daring the reader to take a closer look. I would most definitely buy the movie ticket.

Thank you NetGalley and Unsolicited Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Once I stopped swooning over this gorgeous cover, I was delighted to find out that "The Prumont Method" is as much fun on the inside as it is on the outside. Totally not what I expected from the description, this book surprised me at every turn. The writing style is impressive, taking me back to the Alain de Botton novels of my college days. This book was so different from my normal popcorn thriller reads that I felt like I was wandering through a new city as I read, marveling at the language, the characters, the story as it unfolded. Houser manages to make mass shootings and a depressed, suicidal divorced dad into something cozy and darkly funny. Five stars for the book, and infinite stars for the cover artist!

A poignant, important story. It was funny and well written. I think this I was a story everyone needs to read!

The premise of the book intrigued me because what person wouldn't want to know when the next gun shooting is and be able to prevent it. I don't have specific word for the writer's style but it was like I was reading a movie and not reading a book. Clear as mud, I know but that was the vibe it gave off.

The main character. Roger Prumont, obsession with perfecting his formula to figure out the exact time, date, and location of the next mass shooting would be commendable if his life wasn't in shambles. Also, some of his social actions were exasperating and annoying to read. Even though I didn't care for the main character, I felt that it might have been due to recipes for alcoholic drinks that would interrupt the page when I just wanted more detail. Honestly wished all alcoholic drinks mentioned had the recipes in the back of the book.

The mathematical historical figures and gun facts were eye-opening and shows that the writer put in research for his story. Additionally, by spreading these tidbits of knowledge throughout the book it added weight to the method Roger was trying to accomplish.

The last few pages of the book gave me such jolt that I immediately went back to certain scenes to see all the subtle cues I missed the first time. It was an ending that was appropriate for the severity that is gun massacres/violence in America.

I would recommend this book to specific people in my social circle who lean towards dark humor and a quick read.

Thank you NetGalley and Unsolicited Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel to read and review.

This was an exceptionally unique novel, from an author with a very personal style, that touched on a number of timely and important topics. The structure of the novel is unusual, with a number of seemingly random vignettes, which often felt as though they were thrown together, but ultimately tied together nicely to tell various strands of the story of this family and social ills uniquely faced in modern America.

The only thing keeping this from another star is that a couple of the more "personal" story lines, particularly one of the factors contributing to the main character's decision making, which is hinted at throughout and finally disclosed towards the end, and the relationship between the main character and his wife, were not as fully fleshed out to me as the primary social/sociological story lines. For such a short novel, and with the unique style of the novel, there was a lot to fit into a short story. This novel could have been longer, and fleshed certain things out more thoroughly, or shorter and maybe gone with one or two stressors fewer for the protagonist. Overall, absolutely a valuable read that left me with much to think about.

Trevor Houser successfully does a balancing act and concocts a suspenseful story with deeply sympathetic character portrayals and a heavy dose of black comedy that is relevant to the times that we live in. The Prumont Method achieves the distinction of being delightful and profound simultaneously.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy of this work. This review is my honest opinion.

From simply looking at the cover of THE PRUMONT METHOD by Trevor J. Houser, I knew I wanted to read the book. The gun-shaped swimming pool immediately brought to my mind thoughts of the novel THE GREAT GATSBY and the 1950 film SUNSET BOULEVARD. Then I read the description, realized the fiction would be about gun violence, and realized what a tough topic that would be for an author to tackle. Luckily, the author found the right balance to not only present a believable and enjoyable story, but also managed to provide the type of humor I like to see in my reading. I also like it when a novel causes me to reflect on our society today.

I highly recommend this work, which I would classify as literary fiction. It’s worth your time and may send your mind spinning in fun ways.