I wasn't sure when I got into this novel if I was going to like Milo, but his compassion and sense of right and wrong grew on me until I was completely smitten. Milo is a man with issues, big issues related to obsessive compulsive disorder, issues that he is finding it increasingly difficult to hide from his wife, Christine, who is currently enjoying some "space." Milo, a sweet home health nurse, finds himself with increasing frequency needing to open jars of Smucker's grape jelly just to hear the seal pop, sing karaoke (99 Luftbalons), and bowl strikes. He watches movies over and over hoping against hope that the endings will somehow be different, even though he knows in his heart that they won't.
When Milo is walking his dog in the local park he comes across a bag containing a video camera and several tapes. When no one claims the bag he decides to take it home and watch some of the tapes, becoming engrossed in his quest to discover the identity of the camera's troubled owner, whom he calls "Freckles." Information gleaned from the tapes and his increasingly strained relationship with Christine lead him on a road trip that he hopes will solve Freckles' problem but will also change his own life dramatically.
If you are familiar with the novels of Matthew Dicks you will open this book expecting quirks and stress and characters who are lovable but just a bit scary, not to mention numerous Hartford, CT area locations. You won't be at all disappointed. I think that Memoir of an Imaginary Friend is my favorite of this author's books, but Unexpectedly Milo is an OCD adventure that you shouldn't miss.
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