Joe’s Odyssey book review
When it comes to a road trip packed with outrageous escapades and misbehavior, author Nick LaTorre’s Joe’s Odyssey definitely makes a big impression. Fueled by testosterone, the overall narrative freshens up the college road trip genre by taking readers into an action-packed story with a quartet of pleasure-seeking hedonistic friends, including adventures on the open sea, world travel, mobsters, hit men and college prankster antics.
Frustrated and haunted by the middle-aged Joe Kerson, life in general has him in a bad place, in perspective. He finds himself stuck working for a company in a job with no chance of promotion and with a boss who deeply annoys him. He is also deeply unhappy with his marriage, no longer wishing to be intimate with his wife, as well as being frustrated with the stressful financial needs of caring for his teenage children. As an escape route he finds solace in alcohol and regrets it at the bar he frequents.
However, one fateful pivotal day, Joe’s boss presents him with a special assignment to meet with a new potential client, Luciano Galdonchino, (a known mobster) on his yacht. Initially unenthusiastic, Joe meets Luciano and, while observing some aspects of his wealth, power and success, decides to take the opportunity of a lifetime from him. Joe pushes Luciano overboard, steals his yacht and his money, and thus embarks on the adventure of his life on the stolen yacht on the open sea. However, Joe does not choose to do this excursion alone; he meets a team of three college friends who are also acquaintances of his sons, known as Schmorde, Ron, Pirate, and Brute. Along with this mix of eccentric and immature characters, he embarks on an all-encompassing journey into chaos, danger, sex, drugs and juvenile behavior, let alone in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Jamaica. Having no regrets, Joe easily keeps the affair going for months, leaving his family and his old life behind while occasionally sending a nasty letter to his wife.
Meanwhile, mob boss Luciano and the International Gangster League are following his travels and tribulations as he and his fellow gangsters seek to stop the madness, repossess the yacht, and kill Joe, the perpetrator. Ultimately, it’s an outrageous adventure that unfolds full of laughable, chaotic and dangerous moments.
All in all, this is quite a story that can entertain a lot of men, whether they are in the midst of a mid-life crisis or just older partiers. Ultimately, Joe’s Odyssey turns out to be a fantastic read that was very reminiscent of National Lampoons Animal House with its high level of immaturity, mischief, and implicit stereotyping throughout the narrative. Also within the story there are frequent reflections made by the narrator of the story, often leaving topics open for further discussion. Absolutely, this is the book to read if you like shallow characters on a chaotic jaunt.