American Smoke

Oct 6, 2024 4:24 AM

Author:Iain Sinclair

American Smoke

In American Smoke, Iain Sinclair hits the road to America in the tracks of the Beats.

On the trail of the American Beats, Iain Sinclair makes a delirious and perhaps ill-fated expedition in the footsteps of Malcolm Lowry, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Charles Olson and Gary Snyder. It is a journey in search of literary ghosts behind mirages of volcanoes and the Old West. In which rumours vie with false memories and unreliable reports to steer our guide from one strange adventure into another. It is an odyssey in which the beginning offers no clues as to where it may end.

'A transatlantic odyssey . . . grippingly haunted' Observer

'A challenging, maddening, fascinating journey . . . enjoy Sinclair's poetic language and subtly warped sense of humour. Rich and engrossing' Metro

'Sit back and feel the invigorating pulse of beautifully crafted prose . . . wonderful' Daily Telegraph

'Iain Sinclair has gone from cult author to national treasure' Robert Macfarlane

Iain Sinclair is the author of Downriver (winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Encore Award); Landor's Tower; White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings; Lights Out for the Territory; Lud Heat; Rodinsky's Room (with Rachel Lichtenstein); Radon Daughters; London Orbital, Dining on Stones, Hackney, that Rose-Red Empire and Ghost Milk.

Reviews

His voice is still urgent. If we know what's good for us, we'll listen

—— Financial Times

Sinclair's is a prolix poetics, an amassing of noun-hives whose compacted wit would make the most lexically dexterous rapper envious

—— Observer

To overlook Sinclair is to ignore one of the most distinctive voices in Britain

—— GQ

One of the finest writers alive

—— Alan Moore

London's own poet laureate

—— Time Out

I’ve never read a history book that is as insightful and at the same time as funny as this one.

—— Steven Johnson

This is a blockbuster of a book. Kurt Andersen is a dazzling writer and a perceptive student of the many layers of American life. Take a deep breath and dive in.

—— Tom Brokaw

Riveting…hugely entertaining.

—— Francis Wheen , Mail on Sunday

Charged with enough anger and wit to become necessary reading.

—— Observer

Previous Article：Fantasyland Next Article：The Last Day Of JFK

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.