This book tells the touching story of Frank and Jerry Lee, two lower class Americans who live in motels. The book is full of strange characters, sad and twisted romances and lots of beer and Jim Beam. Set in the wintery harshness of a lower class Reno. The cold and unforgiving atmosphere gripped me while I was reading this book. Although the book has a omnipresent undercurrent of gloom, there are also hints of light strewn out over the course of the book. The stories Frank tells and the pictures Jerry Lee draws for instance. It has to be mentioned, that Richmond Fontaine, the authors band, is the perfect soundtrack to the book. The same gloomy and melancholic mood is conveyed.
The Motel Life
Max Lauber, September 2009