You may never look at a toilet the same again!
Teresa (ty4@comcast.net), college freshman, 06/20/2005

The title of the book draws you right in. You won't know what you're getting yourself into. Let's just say the book starts with a toilet that turns into a human and it only gets better. I picked up this book after finding out that I worked with the author. You will no doubt find yourself unable to put it down; it's hilarious, it's gross, it's simply amazing. The novel really makes you wonder what the author was on. If you know anything about Kafka, odds are you'll get more out of it. I did a report on Toilet:the novel for my final exam and my teacher insisted that I made it all up; that tells you how out of the ordinary this novel is. So if you're looking for a break from the ordinary, I highly recommend that you pick up this novel!

We are all Toilets
Charles Bukowski, a crazy old man, 11/13/2004

Welcome to the bizarre, warped world of Michael Szymczyk, a place where toilets turn into humans and scour the lonely, surreal, post-modern landscape in search of meaning. Toilet is a literary tour-de-force that examines the dissolution of the nuclear family and the insignificance of modern life. Szymczyk's book is a bold, adventurous novel told in three parts. The first part of Toilet follows the exploits of Orestes, a lonely, emotionally starved toilet with the unfortunate infliction of consciousness. Orestes, used and rejected by the family he loves, sits in solitude until one day two mysterious Dionysian voices appear and transform him into a pregnant man that smells of excrement. Alone in the vast, bizzare American nightmare that is his world, Orestes searches for acceptance, but finds little. The second part, or 'Intermission', is an homage to T.S. Eliot's masterpiece 'The Wasteland'. A man without a name lies in a wine cellar after a nuclear war. Alone, he is left with his memories, thoughts and a growing sense of insanity, and appreciation for that which truly matters in life, life itself. This is by far one of the best parts of the book. The final section, or Second Act, returns to the human toilet theme. T., a girl that smells of excrement, has no idea that she used to be a toilet. Rejected and ostracized, she is led by an impulse to consume waste from a toilet. T. discovers that this expunges her odor, and makes her attractive to almost everyone, but it also causes her to age faster. Szymczyk, in my opinion, uses this to make a comment on drugs, and how most of our addictions are emotional, rather than physical. A daring novel of literary prowess, Toilet examines the insignificance of modern life and the social pressures that cause many people to become bathrooms for other people to use at will. It's a classic, ahead of its time and well worth reading.

Also recommended: anything crazy, chic and intellectual.

Breathless...
Jay, an American Lit graduate student, 09/22/2004

I came across this book when I saw 'toiletthenovel.com' scribbled onto the side of I-55, needless to say, traffic was not moving, and I stared at it for about 30 seconds. I went to the website and ordered the book. I received it three days ago, and read the whole novel through in a day. I've never read any book like it before. It's smart, different, funny, sad and really, above all, makes you think. Plus, the book has a nice spot in my bathroom for easy reading (the Intermission on the book, is in my opinion, the best part). I've found myself going back to Toilet the last two days, reading key parts over and over. There are allusions in the book to every great writer, from Dostoyevsky, Kafka, T.S. Eliot, Herman Hesse, Kerouac, Hemingway (again, the Intermission reminds me of some crazy spin on Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises) and many others that most people might not notice (I absolutely loved the reference to Herodotus and Ovid in Day 38 of the Intermission). I would recommend this book to everyone.

Also recommended: Fight Club, The Sun Also Rises, any book written by Bukowski.

wow!
Don Hetfern (donhet357@hotmail.com), a doctor with a love for literature, 09/22/2004

Well, this book is stunning, not just for the sheer intelligence and originality behind it, but also for its experiments with language (I recently read an interview in which Szymyzk talked about the inspiration he received after reading Saussure and Derrida, and writing in a manner that is more phonetic, and thus true to language, rather than to tradition, which intrigued me enough to purchase this book.) In the end, all I can say is that you will probably be as impressed as me.

toilet-people, cats, nuclear war and insanity
Jon Hurley (goldentrees@hotmail.com), a painter, explorer, lover of life, 09/15/2004

I've never read any book like this before. And, I'm sure you'll find it, just as I did, as enjoyable as it is unique. This is a work of art, a tour de force of death, life and love.

Also recommended: Fight Club by Palahunik, The History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault, Walden by Thoreau.