Patrick deWitt

Working at a decaying Hollywood bar while making notes for the novel he hopes to write, a bartender is drawn into the alcoholic oblivion that affects his customers, losing his wife, his goals, and himself in the process.

Notes for a Novel

Ablutions

Tylar M

Good read, but I found it pretty depressing. I probably will never read this again.

From the author of the Booker shortlisted SISTERS BROTHERS - a dark, boozy and hilarious tale from the LA underworld. A nameless barman tends a decaying bar in Hollywood and takes notes for a book about his clientele. Initially, he is morbidly amused by watching the regulars roll in and fall into their nightly oblivion, pitying them and their loneliness. In hopes of uncovering their secrets and motives, he establishes tentative friendships with them. He also knocks back pills indiscriminately and treats himself to gallons of Jameson's. But as his tenure at the bar continues, he begins to lose himself, trapped by addiction and indecision. When his wife leaves him, he embarks on a series of squalidly random sexual encounters and a downward spiral of self-damage and irrational violence. To cleanse himself and save his soul, he attempts to escape ...

I.m. ruzz

at least as good as the sister brothers. possibly better writing with a less cohesive format. very dark and real. the pointlessness of it all draws out a sense of authenticness you'd imagine from living that life. this guy has teeth.

Ablutions Notes for a Novel

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