Review: Powerful read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2013
"Head Case" by Jennifer Oko to me is a very gripping and powerful read. Although intended to be more satirical and entertaining I personally found the important points and messages within the book very well presented and not at all trivialised by the more quirky approach.The story is told by a dead woman, Olivia, a phd student in neuro-chemistry, who gets herself involved in the wheeling and dealing behind prescription drugs to the stars and other users.Her friend Polly scores samples from her father and sales rep Missy Pander, who in turn drags Olivia into the pharmaceutical approval committee for new drugs.When Polly starts going out with Russian DJ Mitya a connection is made to his autn on Brighton Beach and what becomes known as the Russian Black Market Babushkas.But all is not well with the drug Ziperal, there are side effects and other issues around the release.At first I found the narrative a little difficult to follow as it jumped between before death and after death, but once I settled in the story ran away in a pleasantly fast pace as we try to figure out exactly why Olivia was killed and by whom.The story is spoken at the readers, something that gives the narrative an extra edge and imtensity.The book is clearly well researched or takes very educated guesses at the connections between black market, research, health care and organised crime. Since "Love and other drugs" and "The Constant Gardener" many of us are aware of the connections between crime and prescription drugs that can exist. Issues of self medication and the consumer approach to mood enhancers are hinted at in the foreword and are part of the story, making this a very rich read, despite the more casual style in places.The friendships and relationships however do not disappoint and manage to transgress the limits of stereotypes and bring more interest to the story.This is a promising author and a well written book.