The Driftless Zone: Or a Novel Concerning the Selective Outmigration from Small Cities

A darkly comic novel that recalls the style of Raymond Chandler and film noir features a hero named Spleen whose affair with a woman called The Sneering Brunette embroils him in crime and intrigue. A first novel.

Out of La Crosse, Wisconsin (home of Nicholas Ray), comes a quirky black comedy paying considerable homage to film noir: a solid debut about a hired psychokiller who steps off a bus into a city aware of (and dreading) his arrival, sending ripples of fear and desperation through the demimonde. Before killer Richie Buck brought matters to a head by decapitating a live pigeon with his teeth, the denizens of La Crosse lived their squalid lives with no interest in betterment. Protagonist Spleen sponged off his twin brother, living the low life to the fullest, until he met The Sneering Brunette in a pawn shop just as its owner was detailing his son's failed suicide leap into the river. Spleen and the Brunette exchange a few words and then cut to the chase, climbing into bed and into each other's tawdry lives. A chance hotdog on a cold night brings them to misery, however, when they interrupt a stakeout of the bus station as the hit man arrives; the Brunette's ex, the man who hired Buck, sees the couple and decides that letting them live would be a liability. A pair of rogue undercover cops enter the mix through the stakeout, along with a pigeon fancier who, after Buck swallows his pet's head, warns Spleen of what to expect. Taking action for the first time in his life, Spleen goes on the offensive, buying a pistol and setting a trap for Buck, after first setting up both the cops and Buck's employer. But his inability to commit totally to the Brunette sends her out the door, and his well-laid plan for the showdown is obscured by, believe it or not, an especially heavy hatch of mayflies. Melodramatic and tough-guy-terse to excess, in true noir tradition, with a fringe of grim humor: a first novel that's too heavy on the hardboil at times, but appealing in its idiosyncracies all the same--and an almost sure harbinger of better things to come. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Mixing the absurdity of David Lynch and the zaniness of John Kennedy Toole, first novelist Harsch assembles a memorable pack of bizarre characters, left behind in the small town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, after its more talented citizens move to richly cultured centers like New York. Richie Buck, "the man who ate the head of a pigeon called Nadine," is hired to kill the hero, Spleen, who falls in love with The Sneering Brunette. Surrounding this action are many amusing situations and characters, but the author's distinctive style?a unique blend of old radio drama, B-movie dialog and surprisingly effective speculation on the story's events from the most unlikly characters?is the the book's most rewarding aspect. The publisher is living up to its claim of bringing original and entertaining fiction to readers. Highly recommended for all collections.?David A. Berona, Univ. of New England, Biddeford, Me.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.