Ablutions

Okay, next one up is Ablutions by Patrick DeWitt. The subtitle, which I'm usually so fond of, is "Notes for a Novel". This is gonna be a short one, just like the book.

So, the premise of this book is that there's a Hollywood bartender that is, just like the subtitle says, taking notes for a novel. He takes notes on customers- former child stars, drug dealers, the whole nine yards. Everyone makes an appearance in the book.

In theory, I love this. The first couple of pages were great- the concept is interesting and thought-provoking, and many of the characters were pure genius.

Buuuuttt.... boy, I hated the book. Honestly. It got more and more depressing as the narrator's notes showed his own life spiralling out of control, the way he was wasting anything and everything, even losing his own marriage. Eventually, it just got plain gross and crude. So I stopped reading it.

There aren't many books I don't finish, but boy... it was nottt good. No thank you.

Care to disagree? C'mon, lemme know!