THE LONG DRUNK – “Lit Noir”
February 6, 2012
The Long Drunk by Eric Coyote, 2011
Kindle, $2.99
This is the gritty story of a homeless alcoholic who must solve a murder in order save his dog’s life. If that turns you off…wait.
When I first started out as a graphic illustrator I thought maximum contrast meant black and white. Gradually I discovered that gray makes black seem blacker and white whiter.
So it is with Eric Coyote’s The Long Drunk. His depiction of the homeless and the affluent gives noir a new, sharper, more disturbing clarity. And the emotional force behind Ulysses S. Grant Murphy’s needing money for expensive medical treatment to save his pet bull hit by an SUV will keep you reading long into the night. But the author does an equally fine job, whether it is a scene in the back alley, a gay bar, yoga class or the world of art.
I’ll be honest. I felt like I was reading a Raymond Chandler (Murphy’s own guide) or Dashiel Hamett that no one had yet seen. The Long Drunk is a masterpiece you’ll remember twenty years from now with a smile on your lips and tear in your eye.
One of my many unpublished dog poems:
HUNTER’S MOON
My dog and I are silhouettes against the stars. He cocks his
head toward where the moon will soon appear. And it does.
- John Lehman, Rosebud Book Reviews.com
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