Author: Joe West Publisher: Anxiety Press Copyright 2023 Pages: 224 (Paperback) Price: $15.00 This book comes at you like a semi-truck going the wrong way on the freeway. And JoeWest is not about to hit the brakes. In some ways reminiscent of Bukowski, and in other ways reminiscent of Whitman, this story is shocking and repulsive on the one hand and tender and touching on the other. Gritty and crass versus uplifting and sensitive. The protagonist Frederick Bickel is a master of caustic observations and a fountain of unexpected yet hilarious descriptions. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a novel this entertaining or this good. A slice-of-life account of the blue-collar working-class struggle that questions why anyone suffers through it when the payoff at the end is always the same. An exhilarating romp through the American low life as it truly is. By the author’s own admission, and…
