Winter in Florida

Contents appear as new, unopened & unblemished, fine blue/black boards in DJ displaying minimal surface/edge/wear, as shown.

The author's first novel, after three books of poetry …

KIRKUS REVIEW

Poet and short-story writer Falco's first novel--about the violent subculture of race-track workers in Florida--tends toward melodrama, but in a staccato Raymond Carver-like prose rhythm. Jesse Skyne, 23, arrives in Florida after fleeing from the family business for a job as a groom at the Ben White Raceway--and immediately falls in with a group of rednecks: central to the group is Winter--jazz aficionado, gun freak, cocaine-user, and crazy, dangerous drunk. His girlfriend, Easy, has her name for a reason, and soon enough she has eyes for Jesse (nicknamed Sky). There are also Cliff, who pretends to go to college, and his girlfriend Daniella, who wants to get serious. Fat chance in this world. Falco plants all sorts of hints of violence to come and also (now and then) remembers the track: its training procedures and its rites of passage. Meanwhile, Jesse gets more than he bargains for in his education: after an endless round of booze, drugs, and dangerous practical jokes, he becomes Easy's lover. His gambler friend Rizzi arrives; then Winter, after a vicious bar fight, ends up in jail for a few months. Once he gets out, the rest of the story turns into his revenge saga, with Jesse uneasily on the sidelines. There are several murders and a house-burning before things turn nasty. Finally, after nearly everyone is either dead or terminally depressed, Winter flees to Mexico, Cliff is broken, Easy disillusioned, and Jesse afraid he'll get thrown into jail. But life goes on, the bodies are buried, and Jesse heads north again--enough of real life for a while. The story of revenge turns a middling slice-of-life effort downhill, but Falco's portrait of dreary low-rent craziness in roadhouses, trailers, and shacks rings true often enough to excuse the rather stale apocalypse-to, entropy finish. Outstanding novel about the underworld of horse racing …

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