Synopsis:
Get ready for a wild ride as country-rock pioneer, Gram Parsons, struggles to survive, both physically and spiritually at the Lost Highway Motel. As his life flashes before him, several colorful characters try to help him find the meaning of life such as the ghosts of his parents, a strange policeman, a transcendentalist, and the animated animals from “Hee Haw.” With rich allusions to both popular and classical culture, it is at turns hilarious, poetic, tragic, and thought-provoking.
Favorite Lines:
“A star falls between the moon and the boat and plops softly in the water beside us, lighting all the sacred life teeming beneath it.”
“Time has no treasures, we want not its then, but its now.“
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is a work of biographical fiction based loosely on the life of Gram Parsons, an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as both a solo artist and with the band, The Byrds. While Sweatman has several published works, this is his first novel and a first for me for any of his works.
I found this to be an artistic and eccentric story told with a unique storytelling voice. Sweatman has crafted together a biographical fiction unlike any that I have read previously with a blend of humor, poetry, satire, and much more. With fun dives into different perspectives from a rich cast of characters, Sweatman does a good job at taking readers through a colorful journey that has thought-provoking undercurrents hidden beneath the lively surface.
If I had to nitpick one thing, it would be the lack of quotations when someone was speaking. I can appreciate that that this was an artistic liberty, but it made it difficult to follow where someone speaking would start and end and I found myself having to back track in several places to organize my thoughts.
Summary:
Overall. I can say this was an entirely unique biographical fiction and unlike anything I have read before. If you are interested in Gram Parsons, colorfully artistic writing, and/or biographical fictions, then this book could be for you. You can check out the book trailer here! Happy reading!
Check out Cosmic American Rhapsody here!