"I'm going to tell you a story. The story is true and it's tragic, though it's not without its own dark humour. So if you feel the urge to laugh somewhere along the way, by all means, indulge yourself. But this is a story I promised to tell."
Miguel is going to die.
Diagnosed with not one but two terminal conditions, his time is running out and he realises he's never really lived.
Desperate to leave a mark on the world, he latches onto the idea of donation - maybe donating a kidney and saving a life - what better thing to leave behind? But why stop there - why can't he give it all away if he doesn't need it anymore?
Along with his best friends, Doctor Javeed and a Lawyer Kristine, Miguel sets off on a mission to complete his final task - to save lives and die peacefully when he chooses to. But when a Broadway producer hears the story and asks to write a musical about Miguels life, the peace is shattered and the tale can really begin.
"So, I'm going to die. It's not going to be today and, besides, no one gets alive right? I can't take it too seriously."
"Exactly. You need to take a minute and step back to think about things. You need some perspective."
"Actually, what I need is a drink."
Morbidly curious and delightfully absurd, this hard-hitting satirical comedy leaves the reader in fits of laughter to break up the existential crisis it invokes. Raising thought-provoking questions about the morality of assisted dying, bodily autonomy and what life really is when we get down to basics. Fitzhugh uses his darkly funny satire to create something truly uplifting and utterly depressing all at once.
Our narrator, Leonard, is a man who's life has been changed by Miguel, as he watches over the scenes with dry commentary and curiosity - often interrupting to give us his own thoughts and feelings about the things Miguel and his friends and going through. Each character was full of personality - so distinct and perfectly crafted with complex and brilliantly written relationships.
Full of mishaps, mistakes and moral quandaries - this story was fast-paced, packed with intrigue and full of plenty of un-guessable revelations sure to keep this book glued firmly in your hands until you're out of pages.
A Perfect Harvest is the fourth instalment in the Transplant Tetralogy, but can definitely be read as a strong stand-alone story. There are plenty of call-backs to characters from previous stories, but none of these require knowledge of them to fully get immersed in Miguels story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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