The Slapping Man - FIRST PRINTING

A world celebrating the marvelous, the mythical, and the grotesque is introduced in this hilarious and dark novel. Welcome to Salvation, a ribald town where nothing is sacred—except perhaps beer, sex, and fishing. The town is so haunted by its strange past that it can only function in the present. The townspeople are ready for a savior when Ernie, the Slapping Man, appears, beguiling them with a most unusual patter: "Don't be sad, no need to frown, the Slapping Man has come to town. Feel your life's a horrid trap? Just step up and take a slap!" The odd thing is that it seems to work—with a single slap they glow with joy. Suddenly the people of Salvation are caught up in the mania of pure addiction to the pleasure of letting fly at the Slapping Man. There's just one problem—Slapping Men don't last forever. Written with bawdy gusto, this uniquely dark and funny story continually shocks and entertains.

Andrew Lindsay is the author of The Breadmaker's Carnival.