Chris Haggerty is a male prostitute with eccentric fantasies of one day opening his own gym. When Chris suddenly finds himself homeless, he has no choice but to move in with his unstable, former high-school buddy, Maxwell. Fueled by binge drinking and delusions of grandeur, Maxwell allows Chris to videotape his antisocial behavior at local nightclubs—hitting on women with subliminal scripts, cringeworthy karaoke performances, and schizophrenic rants shouted at anyone within an earshot.
Everything changes for the two friends when a shifty entertainment lawyer catches wind of their video project and wants to pitch a reality show about their unusual lifestyle. As Chris and Maxwell hit the town in hopes of filming an impressive pilot, a series of darkly comedic setbacks force them to confront past demons and reevaluate everything they believe to be true. Fitness cult gurus, pickup artists, debauched senators, and delusional boy band hopefuls all converge in this hypnogogic vision of early 2000s Boston.
“That substitute teacher you had in grade school who seemed kinda creepy. The weirdo at the gym saying mantras to himself as he gets jacked. The crazy cousin the family never talks about. Life Engineering, Brian Jacobson’s brilliant second novel, focuses on the figures we often see as side characters in our own lives, taking us on a lyrical journey through the madness just below the surface of modern existence. Life Engineering is like a bad dream you don’t want to wake from, even though it scares you and grosses you out, because it’s so damn funny.”
—Travis J. Petersen, author of The Prayer of St. Francis
“Life Engineering is a dark comedy with colorful characters about close friends with big dreams and even bigger addictions. From blackmail to liposuction, the friends will stop at nothing to turn their ordinary lives into reality television gold. But what they're actually creating will have readers guessing. Brian Jacobson delivers a psychedelically humorous story that is both fresh and daring.”
—Jason Tanamor, author of The Legend of Sensei Tsinelas
“Life Engineering is the bastard lovechild of Chuck Palahniuk, David Chapelle, and Carlton Mellick III. If you like Jackass, The Jamie Kennedy Experience, and Ali G, this transgressive black comedy may be for you. I need to take a hot shower and bleach my eyes. You’ve been warned.”
—Richard Thomas, author of Disintegration, and Breaker (a Thriller nominee)
