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The Psychotic Break #4
A Quarter
The only thing worse than being mentally ill is being mentally ill and strung out on dope. This fourth and final installment in the Psychotic Break Series sees Ethan struggling to rejoin society as drugs take center stage in his life. Home from Mexico with a shampoo bottle full of paregoric, Ethan drifts from job to job and house to house, unable to get his footing. The only thing that remains constant in his life is the relief heroin provides. The drug takes hold in tiny steps. He doesn't become a junkie overnight; he knows he is playing with fire.
The novel showcases San Francisco at the end of the 1980's. It was a period of upheavals everywhere - the Berlin Wall fell; San Francisco shook, and Microsoft took over the world. It was the last days of analog, when phone booths were more common than cell phones, snail mail and typewriters were still favored over word processors. A Quarter describes a San Francisco that vanished.
The novel showcases San Francisco at the end of the 1980's. It was a period of upheavals everywhere - the Berlin Wall fell; San Francisco shook, and Microsoft took over the world. It was the last days of analog, when phone booths were more common than cell phones, snail mail and typewriters were still favored over word processors. A Quarter describes a San Francisco that vanished.
248 pages, Paperback
Published January 2, 2019
About the author
Duncan MacLeod
9 books9 followers"I write medical fiction, adventure stories, magical realism, occult fiction and dark humor to comfort the dispossessed and help them feel lighthearted in the face of adversity." --Duncan MacLeod
Duncan Allan MacLeod was born in Oakland and raised in San Francisco, CA. He is fluent in five languages, sings early American hymns, and is the author of the “Psychotic Break Series.” He makes his home in Southern California with his husband.
Duncan Allan MacLeod was born in Oakland and raised in San Francisco, CA. He is fluent in five languages, sings early American hymns, and is the author of the “Psychotic Break Series.” He makes his home in Southern California with his husband.
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January 9, 2021
Memoirs of drugs and recovery almost invariably follow a predictable plot arc, so they're really only good reading if the author is a master prose stylist and/or brilliant at describing character and/or locale. Fortunately, Macleod writes with an appealing economy and is absolutely brilliant at evoking the louche atmosphere of '80s queer hipster San Francisco as seen through the eyes of his lovable and plucky ingenue protagonist. I can't say if his descriptions of heroin and withdrawal are realistic, but I thought they rang true. This left me hungry for the next installment of Psychotic Break!
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review