This book, you guys. THIS FUCKING BOOK! Have you ever read anything like this? No, you haven't.
I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm not supposed to start a review like that. Of course, you're not supposed to write a book like INNIS E. COXMAN. This sort of thing quite simply defies all the rules of literature and common decency. However, its a real good thing that Lester didn't play by the rules.
COXMAN is a kind of bildungsroman except I'm not sure that the main character learns anything. He sure as hell ain't no David Copperfield and Lester isn't Dickens. He's Mark Twain by way of Charles Bukowski. COXMAN tells the story of our protagonist from kid to criminal, jerk to junkie, and everything in between. This book is a comedy, a tragedy, a crime story, a story about drugs, a story about love and hate, a story about childhood and miseducation.
Its the sort of book that features a restaurant whose name has been changed to Awful Spouse. Its the sort of book that you'll talk to your friends about over a beer. Its the sort of book you could imagine was written over a beer or two. Its a modern piece of folk art and its trashy as shit. I sincerely, deeply loved it.
That brings me to my final point. This book was self-published. I can't see it getting a release any other way. This would definitely be hard to pitch to someone. Of course, now that its out all the small presses and publishers who aren't afraid of something new should look to R.P. Lester. I hope to see much, much more from him.
I wouldn't have seen COXMAN if I had taken the typical old, stodgy asshat approach to self-published or indie works though. This book has been published in spite of being unpublishable and my book shelf is better for it.
Get yours immediately.
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