I picked up a copy in Venice Beach from the author himself. He dressed in all black and had a clear sense of self but was really amicable and warm in our short conversation. I was excited to check this book out.
This is a semi-surreal collection of well worded short stories on some of the most relevant and fascinating aspects of LA, modern society, and humanity as a whole. Existential dread, drug consumption, generational trauma, and the overactive mind to name a few. The author weaves these deep meditations on consumerism and entertainment culture in LA with little pieces of surreality that reminds me of Atlanta. It’s witty, it’s thought out, it’s got a depth to it that makes me feel lucky I ran into this guy. I would not be surprised to see this adapted into a show or even video game one day.
Everything about this just bleeds originality and experimentation. The format of the book (two columns of text) gives it a quick, newspaper like pace (though it can be a bit distracting). There are these randomly inserted one-liners and even lyrics to popular songs which parse the stories up in an interesting way. The short stories can sometimes dabble in long thought trains; I yearned for more plot and action. But overall the risks he’s taken and stylistic choices he’s made make this book something else.
It’s clear this author is passionate about his craft, hungry for success, and very particular and patient with how he builds up these worlds. Really worth the buy!
