It's rare to read a novel in which a vibrant yet intimate portrait of a character is not only a feature, it's kind of the whole point. It's even rarer for the reader to be so totally immersed in that character's consciousness, in which his or her voice and the substance of the book are so thoroughly commingled. When I was trying to describe the experience of reading Joseph Earl Thomas' debut novel to others, I just gave up, thrust a page at them and commanded, "You just have to read it yourself."

"Reading GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER can be an exhausting experience at times, but it's also an immersive one, and readers will not forget Joey's urgent voice anytime soon."

All this is to say, forgive me if I rely too much on quotations in this review of GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER.

The narrator/protagonist shares his name with the author. Joey's day (and often night) job is as an emergency medical worker at an unnamed hospital in Philadelphia. The novel follows Joey through a shift on the job, juxtaposing his uncomfortably candid --- both harrowing and hilarious --- descriptions of the parade of medical maladies, injuries and remedies with the inner workings of his seemingly tireless mind.

These include recollections of his time spent deployed during the Iraq War, his various romantic and sexual entanglements (again, both harrowing and hilarious), his estranged dad (incarcerated upstate), his graduate work at "The University," and his changing relationships with his four children: "The Old One, GodRex96, don't like me no more, thinks I'm too hard on him, and he may be right; the world is hard on him in ways that obliterate his sensitivities; I just want him to clean up after himself: clothes off the floor and ravioli cans outta the bathroom cabinet, next to the Crest, above the African body oil they sell for $2.99 at the hair store."

Joey's thoughts zing by at the speed of light, giving new momentum and energy to the idea of stream of consciousness. Readers need to be on their toes as Joey's focus shifts from past to present, from what's in front of him to memories of years earlier, from wry observations to crass descriptions to moments of loss and disappointment. But then, every once in a while, the narrative pauses, breathes and encourages readers to reflect. At the end of a lengthy consideration of his long-deteriorating relationship with his mother, Joey notes, "And so I think I died then, a little, at the loss of certain futures together, she and I, me and her, being a parent, being parented, being a people, being a happy people. Alive."

Just as Joey's thoughts are woven together in intricate patterns, so too are his relationships. At one point, another character comments on the fact that Joey appears to know, or at least recognize, virtually every patient who comes into the emergency room. Thomas' novel illustrates the interconnectedness not only of Joey's consciousness but also of his community, the web of family, past and present lovers, colleagues, friends and neighbors whose stories are bound together and whose lives form the backdrop for the rapid workings of his mind.

Reading GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER can be an exhausting experience at times, but it's also an immersive one, and readers will not forget Joey's urgent voice anytime soon.