Seth Morgan (1949–1990)

This novel is a literary tour through the drug alleys and strip clubs of San Francisco's North Beach and Tenderloin. With an amazing descriptive verbosity slightly reminiscent of Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid and a sense of hellish despair that has been likened to William Burroughs, Morgan has peopled this novel with the most unforgettable and tragic characters line Rings And Things who acquired her nickname after a three day drug addled sojourn with a motorcycle gang, only to wake up with every show more inch of her tattooed and every orifice and protrusion pierced and adorned with jewelry. The story centers around a vicious killing and how one strip show barker by the name of Joe Speaker accidentally got involved. And about how he found himself swallowed into the prison system like Jonah being swallowed by the whale.

It is an intimate portrait of drugs and prostitution and crime and those who fell into the life and never found their way out. It is also a chilling portrait of life inside California's notorious prisons and how Joe managed to survive doing his time day by day.

There are almost no books to compare this one to because it is so unique. But it is powerfully good and really takes the reader into this strange world.

Unfortunately, Morgan who was a character in his own right, will never produce another novel. The former fiancé of Janis Joplin, who worked as a strip show barker and did hard time in prison, killed himself and a woman he was with after drinking and driving in the Big Easy.

This is a thick, dense book and is just an amazing work. show less

This book was awesome, from the very first sentence up to last. I didn't want it to end. Morgan paints a lyrical narrative of an unsavory slice of life that most of us won't have the misfortune to endure. The images and language throughout the book are vivid. Although it's a sad journey, you feel good reading it. If you can find a copy, you will not regret spending time with this book.