Bungi Gungi

Book excerpt: RULES AT WORK and home are of paramount importance. Nigel Bullstone, however, has no respect for parameters of any kind. Behind exemplary behaviour and pressed suits, he enjoys a wildly different life in his head. This deception is exposed by chance, and his livid father books him into a hard-line motivational course to straighten him out. His journey to absolution is waylaid when his car and his nerves break down en-route. A stranger called Winston rescues him from the roadside; in a mutinous state he accepts a dodgy invitation to go camping in lieu of obeying orders, and then learns that Winston's openly hostile friend, Ramon, is to join them. Stressed out, his unfettered thoughts run amok. He finds himself poised on the edge of madness and the Highest Bungi Jump on Earth; the stupefying leap into nothingness produces a bizarre entity that claims to be his Alter Ego and Personal Counsel. And it is not alone. Ramon has acquired one, and Winston has had one all along. Nigel's life takes on a new perspective.