{"product_id":"short-dog-cab-driver-stories-from-the-l-a-streets","title":"Short Dog: Cab Driver Stories from the L.A. Streets","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Soaked in booze and sadness, psychotic eruptions and hilarity.\"--Willy Vlautin \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the freewheeling, debaucherous tradition of Charles Bukowski, a taxi driver's stories from the streets of lowlife Los Angeles--with an introduction by Willy Vlautin. \"Dan Fante is an authentic literary outlaw.\"--\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e.  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDan Fante lived the stories he wrote. His voice has the immediacy of a stranger of the next barstool, of a friend who lives on the edge. As he writes in \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShort Dog\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e (the title is street slang for a half-pint of alcohol): \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eI had been back working a cabbie gig as a result of my need for money. And insanity. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Hack driver is the only occupation I know about with no boss, and because I have always performed poorly at supervised employment, I returned to the taxi business. The up side, now that I was working again, was that my own boozing was under control and I was on beer only, except for my days off. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFante was the son of famed novelist and screenwriter John Fante, but as the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e wrote, the younger Fante \"... allows us a glimpse of the Southern California demimonde that surely escaped his father's attention.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThese outsider stories are raw, vivid, and brutally honest. But even when the stories are fueled by anger and disgust, they are punctuated by unexpectedly funny and dark-humored vignettes. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShort Dog\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is for readers ready for a cab ride on the wild side.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFante, Dan:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDan Fante\u003c\/b\u003e lived in Los Angeles, a city that provided the setting for much of his work. His novels (published by Ecco) include \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChump Change\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMooch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e86'd\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpitting Off Tall Buildings\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. He is also the author of the poetry collections \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Gin-Pissing-Raw-Meat-Dual-Carburetor-V8-Son-Of-A-Bitch From Los Angeles\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKissed by a Fat Waitress\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, as well as the memoir, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFante: A Family's Legacy of Writing, Drinking and Surviving\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVlautin, Willy:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilly Vlautin\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of several novels including \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Motel Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e and the forthcoming, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Night Always Comes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. He lives outside Portland, Oregon.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Black Sparrow Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50510866743570,"sku":"9781574232493","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2a003877-6256-4417-a2c7-2a4adcde00a8.jpg?v=1730937153","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/short-dog-cab-driver-stories-from-the-l-a-streets","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}