Sands, Bradley. It Came From Below the Belt. Lynnwood: Afterbirth Books, 2005. 204 p. Paperback. ISBN 0976631040.

In Bradley Sands’ debut novel, the laws of nature, logic and physics prove to be easily changeable: giraffes become time machines, a pet lemming runs a private high school, and hall monitors become hot dates in this fun, mindbending work of fiction. Protagonist Grover Goldstein is transported into the future that, although different (i.e. pocket-sized atomic bombs exist), exhibits strange similarities to our present — unruly crowds trample women in the event of an electronics sale at Best Buy, high school bullies terrorize the socially inept, and the cool kids who cut class still smoke in the restrooms.

While depicting Goldstein’s odyssey, Sands makes innovative use of form. The novel takes the shape of a traditional narrative and later is scripted as a sitcom pilot. Additionally, there is a list of plot choices after significant development in Goldstein’s story; the reader can choose from several options followed by appropriate page numbers to turn to. On pages 52-53, for instance, the narrator says, “If you challenge them to a fight, turn to page 53.” This instruction is followed by the result: “They kill you. THE END.” Here Sands’ deadpan style is enhanced by the format of the narrative. Several possible endings to Goldstein’s story are provided — the author makes a distinct shift from linear storytelling, which both complicates and compliments the novel's surrealist style.

At times It Came From Below the Belt borders on extreme absurdity, using fragments of pop culture and everyday life to create a strange dreamscape. When Goldstein narrates his life story in the third person for his private school interview, he describes running away from home: “He renamed himself Pope Fritz Willy and ruled the streets under a Burger King Crown and a scepter of rotting produce” (30). Sands takes elements of familiar consumer culture and renders them bizarre and laugh-out-loud funny.

I would recommend It Came From Below the Belt to anyone looking for a refreshing, comedic, and transgressive book — this one has it all.

— Kristina Marie Darling