Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Ablutions
Ablutions | Patrick DeWitt
6 posts | 9 read | 8 to read
From the author of the award-winning The Sisters Brothers comes a dark, boozy, and hilarious tale from the LA underworld. A nameless barman tends a decaying bar in Hollywood and takes notes for a book about his clientele. Initially, he is morbidly amused by watching the regulars roll in and fall into their nightly oblivion, pitying them and their loneliness. In hopes of uncovering their secrets and motives, he establishes tentative friendships with them. He also knocks back pills indiscriminately and treats himself to gallons of Jameson's. But as his tenure at the bar continues, he begins to lose himself, trapped by addiction and indecision. When his wife leaves him, he embarks on a series of squalidly random sexual encounters and a downward spiral of self-damage and irrational violence. To cleanse himself and save his soul, he attempts to escape . . .
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
TieDyeDude
Ablutions | Patrick DeWitt
post image

📘 Not sure if it has the highest page count, but House of Leaves certainly felt like the longest book I ever read.
📗 Smaller books. To many details can get in the way sometimes
📙 Left on the branches
📘 Currently Xocolatl serene cacao tea
📗 By the campfire when we go to our land in the mountains
📙 Always loved it. Some early favorites were The Monster at the End of This Book, Popcorn, Is Your Mama a Llama?, The Little House
@Jenni_Capps

review
Creadnorthey
Ablutions | Patrick DeWitt
post image
Mehso-so

When I first started this book, I thought it might merit a space beside Bukowski's Post Office, but... I loved DeWitt's other two books and adored his short piece the Bastard, but this piece of writing is too cliche and too studied. And while there are a series of great character studies hobbled together and inhabiting a similar "Bukowskian" space, it misses the true absurdity, depravity, and casualness you'd find there. Good but not great.

LauraJ Good review! 7y
KVanRead I didn‘t know you had a dog?! 7y
Creadnorthey Yeah we've had her for 2+ years - smart as a whip! 7y
See All 8 Comments
KVanRead Must be all that book learning‘! 7y
KVanRead So cute! What‘s her name? 7y
Creadnorthey @LauraJ thanks- Litsy, with their limited characters, makes it so you kind of have to boil it down to its essence. 7y
Creadnorthey @KVanRead he name is Lola and I‘ve decided that she‘s going to be my Litsy avatar. 7y
KVanRead Love it! 7y
4 likes8 comments
blurb
Creadnorthey
Ablutions | Patrick DeWitt
post image

Mixing my dumplings with DeWitt. It all goes down surprisingly well.

Creadnorthey I stupidly liked my own post!😜 7y
KVanRead I‘ve done that 😂 Interested to hear what you think of this one. 7y
5 likes2 comments
review
BookBelle84
Ablutions | Patrick DeWitt
Mehso-so

This book I find very hard to rate. it is unlike anything I've read before and the authors use of 'you' to make you imagine yourself as the alcolholic main character, is very clever. While I liked the outline of this book and the writing I did find it a bit slow and a rather depressing read.

blurb
BookBelle84
Ablutions | Patrick DeWitt
post image

Going to give this one a go. Not sure what to expect...

33 likes3 stack adds
review
evmacu15
Ablutions | Patrick DeWitt
Pickpick

I was sceptical about the second person narrative. I expected pretension. I was wrong. It works perfectly. You get a lovely sense of the haze through which the harsh details penetrate. The failures, losers and addicts who cameo throughout the book are vivid and sad and funny. The narrator is frequently repulsive but you never want to leave his world. Its like Cheers meets Factotum. It's a brilliant book.