There are at least 73 reasons to read Doc Longfellow’s book, but I will only dwell on the highlights. 73 things to do before committing suicide: a love story is a witty and suspenseful tale of one man’s downfall and his struggle to pick up the pieces and rebuild himself.

Everyone knows a Duncan Jones, be it your friend, colleague or neighbor; he is also the main protagonist of the novel. A pretty nice guy, by all accounts, who flourishes in all areas of life: love, career, friendships… or at least until the unimaginable happens and he quits his job and ends a relationship with someone who should have been. the one indicated.

So what’s next?

Nothing. There’s nothing keeping Duncan going.

But as he succumbs to his early end, he stumbles upon a wish list from his childhood. While this won’t be enough of an incentive in and of itself to change your mind, it does at least postpone the expiration date until the listing’s completion. Although there were originally 100 items, as you might have guessed from the title, there are only 73 left. It has it all: stealing a street sign, bungee jumping, the Simpsons marathon… but one entry in particular poses a big challenge for Duncan, asking out his first love. To do this he must return to his hometown, revisit friends and comfort the past with the present.

73 things to do before committing suicide: a love story is an easy adventure to read. A captivating read that transports the reader to a different time and space, not so alien to their reality. All the small and seemingly inconsequential events eventually come together to create a picture of a lifetime. Duncan Jones is just an atom in the Brownian motion of life, but all of his collisions and interactions are lovingly documented by Doc Longfellow. The ordered chaos makes this fiction read even more raw and real. What’s more, the author gives us a true master class in character development, in his cyclical approach to psychic construction and deconstruction.

Inevitably, 73 things to do before committing suicide: a love storywill ask each reader to reflect on their own wish list; a wish list, which as in Duncan’s case, will serve (hopefully) as a portal to self-discovery and a life lived to the fullest.

So what are the 100 (or so) things you would do before you die?