If you read his first book, you will notice that this book is a bit more abstract, but Clevenger is able to pull the novel together. At some times you dont know if the narrator is going crazy, but Clevenger is very good at drawing you into a characters world, even if its a world you dont want anything to do with. This novel is different from his debut, but still a very entertaining read, with all the style of his first.

I enjoyed this book but, it got to be a little confusing. It is definitely a book you need to sit and read as much as possible. Or just remember all that has happened. This is why I gave it four stars. I read it in a few months because I only read during breaks at work. So when the end came and brought it all togethter for me I realized it was worth the read. I don't need to tell you what it's about because Amazon has done it well. I think it should be read because of the metaphors that are all over this book. It has a love story mixed within a suspense novel. Thank you for Craig deciding to still write.

Our narrative, Eric Ashworth, awakes in jail with some serious amnesia. All he knows is the name Desiree. Holed up in a flophouse, Eric discovers a drug that can help unravel his past...or does it feed his paranoia? What is truth? Fantasy? Hallucination? Reality? Who can Eric trust? What do people want from him?

Dermaphoria moves at a manic and psychedelic pace. While it is as well-written as Clevenger's The Contortionist's Handbook, it isn't as readable. I found myself copying down numerous beautiful and poignant philosophical passages, but overall, the plot is tough to follow. If you like offbeat fiction, run out and get this book, but if you want a light read, stay away.

What an experience. Dermaphoria has easily jumped into my top ten novels list. The writing is pure brilliance, the words had an instantaneous impact on my mental and physical state of being. At times I think I hallucinated, and had to reread sections to convince myself that what I read was real.

Freakin' amazing, I don't know how else to say it. I'm going to push this book hard on people -- it deserves to be read by everyone, if only to show them the power that words can have when used by a master. I enjoyed this even more than The Contortionist's Handbook, and that is no small feat.

If you enjoyed Dermaphoria or The Contortionist's Handbook, you may also like the works of Will Christopher Baer. Thank you Craig!

If you liked the fast-paced frenetic drug-addict drama of "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey, you might want to try "Dermaphoria" by Craig Clevenger. But this time, we know it's fiction. As in "Pieces," the book starts with a guy waking up and not knowing who he is, where he is or how he got there. The reader goes with him into the realm of confusion and to the brink of madness. The book captures the extreme paranoia of those involved in drugs, and the constant references to bugs that seem to be crawling everywhere gave me the heebie-jeebies.

You may like the book if you don't have to know whether what's happening is real or illusion. Otherwise, it can be trying. But for the language lover, there are many beautiful passages: "God's own clock quicksand slows to ice-whisper quiet." His confusion becomes the reader's confusion: "My memory's stuck in a loop because I'm remembering things that haven't happened yet" and finally, "What I think I remember has changed, but what I want to remember has not."