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Epiphany Machine
Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
12 posts | 11 read | 14 to read
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 Lyon's apparatus may just be right about us all.
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AnneCecilie
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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December 11: Must Be Peopled by David Burr Gerrard. Published in NY Tyrant.

A man decides to rank the baby‘s on his Facebook feed starting with the cutest. This story was interesting in the response his Facebook friends give as he does this.

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Jason7
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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Pickpick

I stumbled across this audiobook because the narrator, Ari Fliakos, is one of my favorites. I was surprised by how good it was. The Epiphany Machine is one of the better novels I‘ve come across. Overall rating: 4.61 stars.

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goodthinkrebel
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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Mehso-so

☆☆ 1/2
Interesting plot and it intrigued me for like the first 250 pages....but then it falls all kind of apart after that.
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#bookaddict #booknerd #bookish #bibliophile #bookworm #booklove #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookquotes #instabooks #booklion #book #library #shelfie #bookaholic #reading #reader #currentlyreading #newbook #booklove

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BriKie
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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Panpan

This book was not to my reading taste. Partly because it‘s an off-kilter and strange story, but also because I could not develop any kind of attachment to the characters.

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BrooklynBookGirl
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
Mehso-so

Started out really great, but about 4/5ths into the book, it lost me. Really cool premise, but I wish the ending was better thought out.

MrBook And you made this a suggestion for the bookclub 😆😂👏🏻🙌🏻. 7y
BrooklynBookGirl @MrBook I mean, Jason, I didn't ***know*** it was going to have an "eh" ending. But then again, since I didn't like it, Jen will probably love it ? 7y
MrBook 😂😂👏🏻👏🏻 I'm just messing. It's polling strong. 😊👍🏻 7y
9 likes3 comments
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BrooklynBookGirl
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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Library daze

annkuch13 Cute picture! I love your outfit 7y
15 likes1 comment
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BooksFootballBeer
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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BookBabe Cute kitty! ❤️ 7y
BooksFootballBeer Thank you @bookbabe! I ❤️him! 7y
4 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BrooklynBookGirl
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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I went to the Brooklyn Public Library to return Commonwealth this morning, and I perused the new release section. THIS book has been on my list before it was release date, and I happily checked out the only copy! 🤗 Also, didn't the BPL look beautiful this morning? #brooklyn #brooklynbookgirl #brooklynpubliclibrary #bpl

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful !! 7y
8little_paws What an awesome library!! 7y
JessieReadsInBK Love the outside of that branch (never been inside though ☹️). I always try to catch a glimpse when I'm in Grand Army Plaza. 7y
25 likes3 comments
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MrBook
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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#TBRtemptation post 3! #PhillyMeetUp edition! Just released. An alternative NYC history from the 1960s to the near future. Adam Lyon has a tattoo machine which produces important, personal revelations on your forearm. John Lennon uses it, it tells of the spread of HIV, it predicts violent crimes, etc. Venter Lowood conceives a caveat: you can't share the epiphanies with law enforcement. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

BookBabe 😮 7y
69 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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BriKie
The Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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Literary Fiction #PageHabit Box arrived a couple days ago! It includes the annotated hardback, a Field Notes blank notebook, a book light, and a bookmark. So far with this box, the authors and books are unfamiliar to me. Anyone else familiar with this one?

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merelybookish
Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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Mehso-so

An alternative history set in NYC about a machine that reveals a person's true self via tattoo. It has believers and doubters. The MC Venter spends most of the book trying to determine which he is. The premise is fun at first. But Venter is awful. Eventually I didn't care about his search for meaning. There is a problematic unresolved plot development and a twist that comes as no surprise. I skimmed a lot. @PenguinPublishing @penguinrandomhouse

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Alan
Epiphany Machine | David Burr Gerrard
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Mehso-so

There's a lot here. It's smart, funny, and real in turns with a notable, I think, structure. I'm glad that I took the time to wade through the only occasionally gripping plot.