God Clobbers Us All - Softcover

Ballantine, Poe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0971691541 ISBN 13: 9780971691544

Publisher: Hawthorne Books, 2004

Synopsis

Set against the decaying halls of a San Diego rest home in the 1970s, God Clobbers Us All is the shimmering, hysterical, and melancholy account of eighteen-year-old surfer-boy orderly, Edgar Donahoe, and his struggles with romance, death, friendship, and an ill-advised affair with the wife of a maladjusted war veteran. All of Edgar's problems become mundane, however, when he and his lesbian Blackfoot nurse's aide best friend, Pat Fillmore, become responsible for the disappearance of their fellow worker, Beverley Fey, after an LSD party gone awry. Ballantine's own brand of delicious quirkiness and storytelling is smooth and compelling, and God Clobbers Us All is guaranteed to satisfy Ballantine fans as well as convert those lucky enough to be discovering his work for the first time.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Reminiscent of Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac and Barbara Ehrenreich, Ballantines first novel is quirky, compelling, and fun!

From the Inside Flap:

Blurbs

A novel so savory four writers have returned from the grave to give their praise.

MARK TWAIN: God Clobbers Us All, by gum, I couldn’t have said it better myself. He might’ve added, however, that this is only the beginning of our troubles. I almost split my tombstone laughing. This man Poe Ballantine can write the stockings off a schoolmarm.

CHARLES BUKOWSKI: What do I think about Poe Ballantine? I try to not to think about Poe Ballantine. I’m not much for blurbs either. I put them right up there with creative writing workshops. Hell of a good looking cover, though. Now hand me that can of Schlitz and let me get back to work. All this talk about my death has got me in a funk.

RAYMOND CHANDLER: I understand Mr. Ballantine came to the Whaling Bar looking for me the other evening. I’m so pleased to see a man who can handle his similes. I imagine I’ll meet him soon enough. You know, I never liked La Jolla society much either, although the oysters at the La Valencia were always very good.

NATHANAEL WEST: Bless my soul, if I had not been clobbered myself coming back from that funeral in El Centro with my new bride, I think I would’ve gotten around to a novel of similarly hilarious and desperate proportions. Alas, I was not much of a driver, and the Grand Old Man in the Tuxedo Above said to me: four novels is all you get. Bon voyage, Poe Ballantine, and the very best of luck to you.
|SET AGAINST THE DECAYING HALLS of a San Diego rest home in the 1970s, God Clobbers Us All is the shimmering, hysterical, and melancholy account of eighteen-year-old surfer-boy orderly, Edgar Donahoe, and his struggles with romance, death, friendship, and an ill-advised affair with the wife of a maladjusted war veteran. All of Edgar's problems become mundane, however, when he and his lesbian Blackfoot nurse's aide best friend become responsible for the disappearance of their fellow worker after an LSD party gone awry. Ballantine's own brand of delicious quirkiness and storytelling is smooth and compelling, and God Clobbers Us All is guaranteed to satisfy Ballantine fans as well as convert those lucky enough to be discovering his work for the first time.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hawthorne Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0971691541
• ISBN 13: 9780971691544
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 196