Go Now

Go Now, Richard Hell, Scribner's (Simon and Schuster), 1996

Billy, a junkie punk musician in New York City, and Chrissa, his sometime girlfriend, are commissioned by a record producer friend to fly to Los Angeles and drive back cross-country in the producer's flame orange '57 DeSoto. The intention is that Billy should do the writing, and Chrissa take pictures of their experiences along the way and turn it into a book (all expenses paid, by the way). This is something which Billy attributes to his never-ending ability to attract good luck.

Billy looks at the world through a filter of drugs, sex, self-hatred and the desire to change his ways. The trip is an emotional roller coaster for both of them. It is never completed, ending sadly and abruptly near Billy's hometown of Lexington, Kentucky.

You know how some books are really good, but they just take a while to get interesting, to get "going"? This book was going from the first page, and didn't stop until the end. I give it a double thumbs-up.