Details
- ISBN 9780547335711 / 0547335717
- Title Ablutions: Notes for a Novel
- Author Patrick DeWitt
- Format Paperback
- Pages 164
- Publisher Mariner Books
- Language English
- Dimensions 132mm x 15mm x 201mm
On its way to becoming a cult classic, “Ablutions” is the much-acclaimed debut of a literary star in the making.
Enter a famous but declining Hollywood bar. There, a barman, morbidly amused by the decadent decay of his surroundings, establishes tentative friendships with variously pathological regulars, all the while making notes for his novel.
But as his tenure at the bar continues, he begins to serve himself more often than his customers. The moments he lives outside the bar become more and more painful: he loses his wife, his way, himself. Trapped by his habits and his loneliness, he hatches a terrible, necessary plan of escape, his only chance for redemption.
Patrick deWitt's stunning debut novel has been compared to the work of Charles Bukowski, Denis Johnson, and Hunter S. Thompson. It is funny and horrifying and beautiful and honest, the kind of book whose “dirty realism” makes Gary Shteyngart “want to roll in the mud with” the author. “Ablutions” is destined to be a backlist favorite for many years.
Enter a famous but declining Hollywood bar. There, a barman, morbidly amused by the decadent decay of his surroundings, establishes tentative friendships with variously pathological regulars, all the while making notes for his novel.
But as his tenure at the bar continues, he begins to serve himself more often than his customers. The moments he lives outside the bar become more and more painful: he loses his wife, his way, himself. Trapped by his habits and his loneliness, he hatches a terrible, necessary plan of escape, his only chance for redemption.
Patrick deWitt's stunning debut novel has been compared to the work of Charles Bukowski, Denis Johnson, and Hunter S. Thompson. It is funny and horrifying and beautiful and honest, the kind of book whose “dirty realism” makes Gary Shteyngart “want to roll in the mud with” the author. “Ablutions” is destined to be a backlist favorite for many years.
In a famous but declining Hollywood bar works A Barman. Morbidly amused by the decadent decay of his surroundings, he watches the patrons fall into their nightly oblivion, making notes for his novel. In the hope of uncovering their secrets and motives, he establishes tentative friendships with the cast of variously pathological regulars.
But as his tenure at the bar continues, he begins to serve himself more often than his customers, and the moments he lives outside the bar become more and more painful: he loses his wife, his way, himself. Trapped by his habits and his loneliness, he realizes he will not survive if he doesn't break free. And so he hatches a terrible, necessary plan of escape and his only chance for redemption.
Step into “Ablutions” and step behind the bar, below rock bottom, and beyond the everyday take on storytelling for a brilliant, new twist on the classic tale of addiction and its consequences.
But as his tenure at the bar continues, he begins to serve himself more often than his customers, and the moments he lives outside the bar become more and more painful: he loses his wife, his way, himself. Trapped by his habits and his loneliness, he realizes he will not survive if he doesn't break free. And so he hatches a terrible, necessary plan of escape and his only chance for redemption.
Step into “Ablutions” and step behind the bar, below rock bottom, and beyond the everyday take on storytelling for a brilliant, new twist on the classic tale of addiction and its consequences.
Patrick deWitt is the author of the critically acclaimed “Ablutions: Notes for a Novel”. Born in British Columbia, he has also lived in California, Washington, and Oregon, where he currently resides with his wife and son.
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