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Nov 22, 2024 | 
libraryjournal.com | Charles Baxter
.
Oct. 2024.
224p.
ISBN 9780593700853. $28.
F
COPY ISBN
Baxter’s (
Wonderlands) latest novel features Brock Hobson, a middle-aged insurance salesman who takes a blood test that predicts his future behavior. Many who have taken the blood test have gotten optimistic results, but Brock’s indicate that he will commit felonies, which he finds preposterous since he teaches Sunday school and has never committed a crime.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
slate.com | Charles Baxter |Isaac Butler |Julia Turner |Stephen Metcalf
This week, the hosts discuss Say Nothing, Emilia Pérez on Netflix, and a new biography of Johnny Carson. Choose your preferred player: For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. If you can't access your feeds, please contact customer support. Thanks! Check your phone for a link to finish setting up your feed. Please enter a 10-digit phone number.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Charles Baxter
Is it moral to make money predicting what someone may or may not do? Insurance salesman Brock Hobson does it for a living. A man devoted to routine, he hasn’t worried about the future or seen it as much of a mystery. Until now. Charles Baxter’s latest novel, Blood Test, takes place at a time when America’s future feels particularly uncertain: Do you wear a mask? A MAGA hat? Are you vaccinated?
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Oct 28, 2024 | 
dailyrepublic.com | Charles Baxter |Laurie Hertzel
Charles Baxter’s new novel, “Blood Test,” is billed as a comedy, and it is a comedy mostly in that it is not a tragedy. Is it funny? Yes, but darkly so; its humor, which is delightful, is wrapped around truths and drama and so, while we laugh, we also feel a shot of anxiety. It is a wonderfully crafted book, more complicated than it first might seem.
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Oct 27, 2024 | 
bostonherald.com | Laurie Hertzel |Charles Baxter
Charles Baxter’s new novel, “Blood Test,” is billed as a comedy, and it is a comedy mostly in that it is not a tragedy. Is it funny? Yes, but darkly so; its humor, which is delightful, is wrapped around truths and drama and so, while we laugh, we also feel a shot of anxiety. It is a wonderfully crafted book, more complicated than it first might seem.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
kansascity.com | Charles Baxter
Charles Baxter's new novel, "Blood Test," is billed as a comedy, and it is a comedy mostly in that it is not a tragedy. Is it funny? Yes, but darkly so; its humor, which is delightful, is wrapped around truths and drama and so, while we laugh, we also feel a shot of anxiety. It is a wonderfully crafted book, more complicated than it first might seem.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
lithub.com | Charles Baxter
Charles Baxter’s novel, Blood Test, is available now from Pantheon, so we asked him a few questions about writing, reading, organizing books, and more. Article continues after advertisement*Who do you most wish would read your book? (your boss, your childhood bully, etc.)My ideal reader for Blood Test: A Comedy would be anyone who needs a good laugh and wants to be taken away by a story.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
nyjournalofbooks.com | Charles Baxter
“Blood Test may offer a dark view of aspects of middle America, but it is consistently amusing and is an expression of its author’s deep fascination with and love of flawed, eccentric Americans . . .”The narrator and central character of Blood Test tells his readers, “If you don’t like zany, you probably shouldn’t live in America.” Blood Test is quietly zany, reminding one of the writings of another Midwesterner, James Thurber.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
bookbrowse.com | Charles Baxter
BookBrowse Review BookBrowse
The best part of this book is its irreverent tone, which sometimes stretches into absurdity. Some characters, like Brock's immensely practical girlfriend, seem very rooted in reality, while others are more overtly comedic. For instance, his ex and her new partner are diehard members of a ridiculous-sounding self-improvement cult.
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Oct 9, 2024 | 
startribune.com | Laurie Hertzel |Charles Baxter
Charles Baxter’s new novel, “Blood Test,” is billed as a comedy, and it is a comedy mostly in that it is not a tragedy. Is it funny? Yes, but darkly so; its humor, which is delightful, is wrapped around truths and drama and so, while we laugh, we also feel a shot of anxiety. It is a wonderfully crafted book, more complicated than it first might seem.
