The Epiphany Machine

By: David Burr Gerrard

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

Everyone else knows the truth about you. Now you can know it, too.

That's the slogan. The product: a junky contraption that tattoos personalized revelations on its users' forearms. It's an old con, playing on the fear that we are obvious to everybody except ourselves. This particular one's been circulating New York since the 1960s. The ad works. And, oddly enough, so might the device....

A small stream of city dwellers buy into this cult of the epiphany machine, including Venter Lowood's parents. This stigma follows them when they move upstate, where Venter can't avoid the whispers of teachers and neighbors any more than he can ignore the machine's accurate predictions: his mother's abandonment and his father's disinterest. So when Venter's grandmother finally asks him to confront the epiphany machine and inoculate himself against his family's mistakes, he's only too happy to oblige.

Like his parents before him, Venter is quick to fall under the spell of the device's sweat-stained, profane, and surprisingly charming operator, Adam Lyons. But unlike them, Venter gets close enough to Adam to learn a dark secret. There's an undeniable pattern between specific epiphanies and violent crimes. And Adam won't jeopardize the privacy of his customers by alerting the police.

It may be a hoax, but that doesn't mean what Adam is selling isn't also spot-on. And in this sprawling, snarling tragicomedy about accountability in contemporary America, the greater danger is that Adam Lyons' apparatus may just be right about us all.

©2017 David Burr Gerrard (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“This is a wildly charming, morally serious bildungsroman with the rare potential to change the way readers think.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])

“Hilarious. [A] razor-sharp alternate history...Gerrard's novel emphasizes just how desperately people want confirmation of their place in the world.” (The Washington Post)

“An affecting exploration of fate and the clash of our private and public selves...ambitiously wrestling in the muck of big questions. A pleasurably speculative yarn about family and ethics.” (Kirkus Reviews)

meh

Wanted to like but....the author left my mind no room to breath or observe the characters. The so called ephipany machine is a device used only to explore a fairly mundane family drama. The politics and alleged social implications are only explored as to how they affect our pretty uninteresting routine 'cosmopolitan' new york city characters. Now that im done....im frankly relieved i get to move on.

Subtle and Beautiful

Easily a new favorite. I think that the voice performance makes the piece come alive.

Only slightly alternative reality. Might be in the wrong category but engaging and interesting story even if

the main character is a little too whiny and self-absorbed, like most of us.

Great Coming of age story

I loved this book. it was almost like a motivational self help book but a great fiction story instead. I liked the narrarator, to me he sounds like the one in rhe sandlot.

What a Surprise: Great Audiobook

Would you consider the audio edition of The Epiphany Machine to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version, but I would guess that the audio edition is better since Ari Fliakos narrates this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Adam Lyons because his character adds the right amount of comedy to this book.

What about Ari Fliakos’s performance did you like?

This is my fourth audiobook by Ari. He is the best narrator I've heard on Audible. I probably would not have downloaded this title unless I'd seen that Ari narratied it. I'm glad I did. The story was great.

Who was the most memorable character of The Epiphany Machine and why?

Adam Lyons was the most memorable because he owns the mysterious Epiphany Machine.

Any additional comments?

For anyone who loves a great story that is paired with great narration, this is a title for you. The Epiphany Machine is well-written, clever, and interesting. It's early in 2018, but, for me, this is the best audiobook so far. Stay tuned.

Best book in a while

In a book where I hate the main character so much, probably because he is as almost exactly like me, I love the book. Hope nobody reads any of these reviews before reading it. I am glad I just bought it and listened on just the strength of the sample. Since I share the same major flaw as the main character I am sure it would have been spoiled by other people's opinions.

Loathsome characters and yet a compelling listen

If you could sum up The Epiphany Machine in three words, what would they be?

Weak, Pathetic, wandering

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I wouldn't have, its an interesting exploration of a story full of people you wouldn't want to know.

Which character – as performed by Ari Fliakos – was your favorite?

Probably Adam, he was very believable sounding as the machine's resident caretaker.

Any additional comments?

The Epiphany Machine's main character is so flawed and unlikeable that I found I had to finish. Not because I was hopeful for some type of redemption, that went out the window, but because I was so impressed that you could write a compelling novel without any meaningful characters that I identified with.

It's not a book I would recommend to anyone, but it is definitely one worth recommending to anyone interested in human nature and something different.

Magical Narration

Narrator, Ari Fliakos, carried this story long after I wanted it to end. The book started out wonderfully, with a fresh premise and well-developed characters. But about 1/2 way through the story took a turn for the worse and continued to gain momentum until it was in an unrecoverable death spiral of nauseating predictability. Almost like reading two separate novels. The first, a delightfully imaginative and playfully cognitive page-turner. The latter, an Old Brown Shoe of a disappointment.
Regardless, anything piece of garbage can be transformed into art if Ari Fliakos is narrating it. He is the true hero of this novel.

Get your epiphany, now

What made the experience of listening to The Epiphany Machine the most enjoyable?

My wife and I decided to experiment and listen to The Epiphany Machine together. As luck would have it, the book is fabulous. We couldn't stop listening and got through half the book the first day.

What did you like best about this story?

The Epiphany Machine is a unique and inventive book that should not be missed. It is mysterious and humorous. Yes, it is also thought provoking, which is always a good thing. Highly recommended.

easy to follow

it was written in such a way that one feels it must be a true story.