This searing, extraordinarily evocative narrative opens with a man in
his house at dawn, surrounded by aspens, coyotes cackling in the
distance as he quietly navigates the distance between present and past.
As memory overtakes him, he sees the bygone America of his childhood:
the farmland and the feedlots, the railyards and the diners--and, most
hauntingly, his father's young girlfriend, with whom he also became
involved, setting into motion a tragedy that has stayed with him. His
complex interiority is filtered through views of mountains and deserts
as he drives across the country, propelled by Benzedrine, rock and roll,
and a restlessness born out of exile. The rhythms of theater, the
language of poetry, and a flinty humor combine in this stunning
meditation on the nature of experience, at once celebratory, surreal,
poignant, and unforgettable.