Ruby and the stone age diet /

Best friends and south London squat mates, Ruby and the unnamed narrator are brokenhearted and hungry. Their respective lovers have just left them, and barefoot Ruby insists they begin the Stone Age diet, a regimen of raw fruits and nuts that bodies are made for. The narrator's ex, Cis, delivers what Ruby identifies as an Aphrodite Cactus, a plant that supposedly seals the fate of two lovers once it flowers. Only for some reason it won't blossom. To make matters worse, the narrator can't find a drummer for his band, the one he is confident will help win back his girlfriend. Meanwhile, he steeps himself in myth, until he can no longer recognize reality, dwelling instead in an inner world of aliens, robots, werewolves, and gods, including Helena, goddess of electric guitar players. Fans will recognize Millar's trademarks: piercing satire, humorous surprises, and absurd characters. What the novel lacks in plot, it makes up for with wild imagination; a charming, ADD-infused voice; and its portrayal of two friends who, if nothing else, at least have each other.--Fullmer, Jonathan Copyright 2010 Booklist

In this charming but aimless tale, the everyday harshness of drugs, heartbreak, and poverty in London's gritty south side mingles casually with a series of hallucinatory vignettes that may or may not be the result of unknowingly-ingested LSD. Appearances from gods and goddesses, space aliens, and hostage-taking Post Office robbers spin out alongside the unnamed narrator's humdrum day-to-day: lovesickness, finding a place to crash, and plans for self-improvement devised by his roommate and best friend, Ruby. Unfortunately, none of the goings-on have much effect on the protagonist, who takes personal obstacles and sci-fi plot developments equally for granted. What shines through are the personalities of and relationships among the main characters, whose friendships bloom amidst the disorienting blight of the real and unreal world, spiking Millar's gritty period fantasy with unexpected shots of sweetness. Though winning, the relationship between our bumbling narrator and the assertive but fragile Ruby serves a static plot that follows one unexplained upheaval after another. (Jan.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.