Just a Couple of Days

TONY VIGORITO's first novel, Just a Couple of Days, is a cult classic that was republished by Harcourt in 2007. His following novels helped earn him acclaim for his satirical style. A former professor who earned a Ph.D. at Ohio State University and taught social theory at Ohio University and Antioch College, he now lives in Austin, Texas. Visit TonyVigorito.com.

Blip Korterly kicks off a game of graffiti tag on a local overpass by painting a simple phrase: "Uh-oh." An anonymous interlocutor writes back: "When?" Blip slyly answers: "Just a couple of days." But what happens in just a couple of days? Blip is arrested; his friend, Dr. Flake Fountain-a molecular biologist-is drafted into a shadow-government research project conducting experiments on humans. The virus being tested-cleverly called "the Pied Piper"-renders its victims incapable of symbolic capacity; that is, incapable of communication. Is this biological weaponry? What would happen if it were let loose on the world? Does a babbling populace pose a threat or provide an opportunity for social evolution? This novel's absurd, larger-than-life characters speak in exuberant prose that is as satirical as it is playful, as full of implications as it is full of mirth. It's no wonder Just a Couple of Days has become an underground cult classic. This grassroots phenomenon will reach even more soon-to-be fans in its newly updated Harvest edition-- complete with an excerpt from the author's next book!