Discussion date: December 8, 2003

What we thought:
This was one of those books that inspired very diverse reactions . Some people loved the humor and remarked on how often they had laughed out loud while reading, but others were turned off, finding it tasteless and tiresome. The average rating came out to 3 stars, but this represented individual scores of either 4 and 5, or 2 -- no one was lukewarm. Most of us weren't enamored of the self-centered, immature protagonist, Patrick, and some of us weren't so sure about Mrs. Clausen either. But those who liked the book were drawn in by Patrick's growth and change for the better, inspired mostly by fatherhood and love for a good woman.

If we had mixed feelings about the two main characters, everyone got a big kick out of Angie, the make-up girl, and most of us enjoyed the subplot with Dr. Zajac and his dog Medea. (I just mistyped Medea as "Media", leading me to wonder whether this name for a dog that eats its own excrement is an intentional pun meant as a comment on the nature of TV news, as it's depicted in this book.)

A favorite quote from The Fourth Hand:

Books and sometime movies ... can be mutually appreciated, but the specific reasons for loving them cannot satisfactorily be shared. Good novels and films ... are comprised of the whole range of moods you are in when you read them or see them. You can never exactly imitate someone else's love of a movie or book.

Links of interest:

The history of real-life hand transplants
Reading group guide
The Fourth Hand on film