Andrew Alsup

The premise of the book is established at the beginning: the voices the speaker can hear in his head as well as his psychic abilities. The voices are called 'chipmunk' – or douchebag because they are abusive, hostile, and factually wrong – because they squeak. These voices are trying to deliver messages that the speaker refuses to engage, presenting themselves as the American government. The first part of the book discusses the voices, the second part touches on his psychic abilities, and the third part of the book provides Bible excerpts and an essay on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven as well as poetry and Applied Maths.

On the one hand, the writing style is very unusual; the book reads like a stream of consciousness. There are thoughts put down on paper which form a story full of information for readers to identify what they can understand and what they can relate to, then make of that what they will. As established at the beginning of the book, there are many themes, such as music, culture, and religion. The book heavily refers to the American government and might be its target audience.

On the other hand, this format makes the book extremely confusing as there is no clear distinction between Alsup, Andy, the voices, as well as the additional characters featured. The book is also inconsistent with the use of strong language. There is ultimately a lot of anger projected throughout the book as the voices are abusive and the speaker refuses to fall victim to the conspiracy these voices are trying to pass as true information. Furthermore, the book is written in the first person, but Alsup is frequently referred to in the third person, and readers are invited into the story through the book’s use of the second person. All of this makes the perspective confusing. Is chipmunk in the speaker’s head or Andy’s? Without a clear understanding, connecting with the speaker is therefore difficult.

This is a complex read so it cannot be read casually, and there are plenty of spelling errors, particularly in the use of homophones. There is also no clear distinction between the characters featured, and the book reaches out to specific readers. Nonetheless, the book is engaging and with the correct reader, the book succeeds in grabbing hold of their attention.


I received a free review copy. Thank you to OnlineBookClub and author.… (més)

The premise of the book is established at the beginning: the voices the speaker can hear in his head as well as his psychic abilities. The voices are called 'chipmunk' – or douchebag because they are abusive, hostile, and factually wrong – because they squeak. These voices are trying to deliver messages that the speaker refuses to engage, presenting themselves as the American government. The first part of the book discusses the voices, the second part touches on his psychic abilities, and the third part of the book provides Bible excerpts and an essay on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven as well as poetry and Applied Maths.

On the one hand, the writing style is very unusual; the book reads like a stream of consciousness. There are thoughts put down on paper which form a story full of information for readers to identify what they can understand and what they can relate to, then make of that what they will. As established at the beginning of the book, there are many themes, such as music, culture, and religion. The book heavily refers to the American government and might be its target audience.

On the other hand, this format makes the book extremely confusing as there is no clear distinction between Alsup, Andy, the voices, as well as the additional characters featured. The book is also inconsistent with the use of strong language. There is ultimately a lot of anger projected throughout the book as the voices are abusive and the speaker refuses to fall victim to the conspiracy these voices are trying to pass as true information. Furthermore, the book is written in the first person, but Alsup is frequently referred to in the third person, and readers are invited into the story through the book’s use of the second person. All of this makes the perspective confusing. Is chipmunk in the speaker’s head or Andy’s? Without a clear understanding, connecting with the speaker is therefore difficult.

This is a complex read so it cannot be read casually, and there are plenty of spelling errors, particularly in the use of homophones. There is also no clear distinction between the characters featured, and the book reaches out to specific readers. Nonetheless, the book is engaging and with the correct reader, the book succeeds in grabbing hold of their attention.


I received a free review copy. Thank you to OnlineBookClub and author.… (més)