The publisher sent me an advance proof of this book.
I have read novels with less plot than this story. Somehow Dapin manages to keep all the balls in the air.
The narrator, Chevy, is a half-Laotian architect. He is on remand - that is, in prison awaiting trial - because the police think he killed his best friend, Jamie. A security camera caught them fighting, and Jamie hasn't been seen since.
Fortunately, Chevy has a lawyer. Jesse is his former lover and a very complicated person. ("I used to say that I only loved for people -- two of them were Jesse...") Unfortunately, no aspects of her personality involve legal skills.
And then there are the Vietnamese in the prison that want him dead, apparently because he is Laotian.
I haven't even mentioned the Lion King, a gang boss who runs the cell block. He is a truly disgusting person and is taking an unhealthy interest in our hero.
If I listed all the other threads in this tale you would think it was some kind of postmodern experimental fiction, all bits and pieces that don't connect.
Don't worry. The author knows what he's doing. But does Chevy?
