Another pseudo-memoir of a Gulf War veteran, a page turner and gritty without being maudlin. Joe Hustle has had a few difficulties over the years. A terrible family life with a dysfunctional mother and a missing father. He tried the Marines — deployed to Iraq — and was drummed out after not being able to stay sober. Back in his hometown of LA he flounders. Bartender jobs (usually ending with drunken brawls) and piecework as a painter/handyman (usually end due to issues with drink). And I almost forgot the prison stint (booze-fueled car theft). Lange employs an oft-used, oft abused technique of tossing in autobiographical details thanks to Joe being “interviewed” by a wanna-be screen writer neighbor. These one page blurbs don’t interfere with the broader narrative. The novel revolves around a romantic entanglement with Emily who takes Joe to new heights of intimacy. Ultimately this falls apart after a wild misguided trip to Austin — based on Emily’s bi-polar delusion that she has a daughter there—she doesn’t. Back in LA Joe settles back into a lonely life of mediocrity, dead-end jobs and ceaseless churn, but through it all there doesn't seem to be any animus toward the life he has been dealt.
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