THE MAN WHO ATE THE 747

A clever, quirky, comic first novel about love and obsession, as seen through the eyes of a man who makes his living verifying world records.

J.J. Smith, Keeper of the Records for The Book of Records, has spent most of his life traveling the world in search of those who are desperate enough for immortality to kiss nonstop for 30 hours and 45 minutes, swallow 13 raw eggs in a second, or make a continuous crawl of 31.5 miles. But lately things have gone sour for J.J., who has just been dumped by his girlfriend because he doesn't really know what love is, foolishly believing that it has everything to do with symmetrical faces, pheromones, and the sound of someone's voice. Also, J.J. is in danger of being put out to pasture because he’s hit a particularly dry patch as far as records are concerned: his task now is to fine one worthy of notation in the book—and quickly. Going through his mail one day, he comes across a note claiming that in the tiny town of Superior, Nebraska, someone is “eating a 747, the airplane with a hump on top. Every day he eats some, no matter how bad it tastes. I sware.` When J.J. arrives in the heartland, he indeed finds Wally Chubb grinding up the 747 bit by bit and, yes, he's actually eating it. And the reason he's eating it is to demonstrate his undying, everlasting love for Willa Wyatt, who writes and edits the local newspaper. Willa is, in fact, a worthy inspiration for Wally's strange diet, so much so that J.J. also falls for her, while at the same time urging Wally to go for the record book so that his town may reap the economic benefits of his notoriety.

Wonderfully wacky, wise, charming, and romantic satire, filled with lovably eccentric characters who know the secret of true love.