Choke

Victor Mancini navigates a chaotic life filled with questionable decisions and despair. As a medical-school dropout, he finds himself resorting to elaborate scams to fund his mother's care in a nursing home, all while grappling with his own identity and the baggage of his upbringing. His methods may be unorthodox, but they reflect a desperation that resonates in contemporary society.

Amidst the chaos, Victor also engages in a peculiar pastime—deliberately choking in upscale restaurants to elicit the sympathy and savings of strangers who feel compelled to save him. This darkly humorous strategy becomes a metaphor for his struggles, as he chokes on the weight of his past and the absurdity of his present. His interactions with a cast of eccentric characters reveal the fragility of human connection and the lengths to which people will go for love and redemption.

As the narrative unfolds, Victor's journey is a compelling exploration of guilt, desire, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels senseless. Through his misadventures, readers are drawn into a visceral examination of the human experience, complete with its absurdities and contradictions.