Painless, Jamie Mayer
Painless, Jamie Mayer
List: $22.00 | Sale: $15.40
Club: $11.00

Painless
A Novel

Author: Jamie Mayer

Narrator: Trevor Goble

Unabridged: 5 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/27/2021

Categories: Fiction


Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Quinn can't feel physical pain. Born with a rare neurological condition, he's faced accidents and emergency room visits. It's a surprise he's still alive--a fact that has caused him to be left to his own devices for most of his life. No school, no friends, no rules. At the mercy of his older sister Caitlin, who has spent the past few years caring for their dying father, he spends his days drinking at a nearby bar, testing his limits, and working on a graphic novel about a mysterious vigilante called Shadow Man. Lately, though, even his art has taken a turn for the worse. Quinn has created a new character called Demon Boy who destroys everything he touches, and now Quinn can't decide how his book should end. Furthermore, an ominous black dog has started to follow him everywhere.

On the same day his father dies, Quinn accidentally gets hit by a car and Caitlin decides that this is the last straw. Left with the choice to either find a job and grow up or be committed to a rehabilitation center, Quinn takes a gig at a local butcher shop owned by the father of a sensitive but troubled girl who often changes her appearance with the flick of a wrist. But the closer he gets to finding stability, the further he spins out of control, as the lines between art and reality continue to dissipate.
In this debut novel, Jamie Mayer offers an unflinching and poignant look at loss, empathy, and how to grow up without feeling pain.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Nadia on January 04, 2017

Painless by screen-writer Jamie Mayer starts with a bang. Literally: “I got hit by a car on the day my dad died. The stupid jackwagon in the BMW just kneecapped me – so it was fairly minor. I didn’t feel a thing. But then again, I never do.” Mayer’s debut novel is a well-paced YA, contemporary novel t......more

Goodreads review by Robert on February 06, 2017

In competing narrative voices (mostly first with a dash of third), author Mayer ably explores the turbulent headspace of Quinn, a teenager with a condition known as congenital analgesia—he can't feel pain. A high percentage of folks with Quinn's condition don't make it to adulthood, and Quinn seems......more

Goodreads review by Karen on May 13, 2017

Read this review and more on my blog.The Book Return BlogQuinn is a seventeen year old who suffers from Congenital Analgesia. Congenial Analgesia is a disease where the sufferer feels no pain. This disease is extremely fascinating. I have heard in the past about children who could not feel pain. It......more

Goodreads review by Kris on April 03, 2017

An astonishingly introspective read with a three dimensional character and a sense of magical realism. Written from three different points of view; this book is profound without being in your face or boring. Quinn is a teen that isn't expected to live much longer on account of his not being able to......more

Goodreads review by Jenna on October 02, 2021

Quinn is a grouchy, rude, and unthoughtful young man who disrespects nearly everyone he encounters. His home life is craptastic and he has no goals for his life because he never expected to survive to adulthood. His drawings are his solace. But when the draws begin to come to life he speaks out of c......more