Rating: 4 1/2 stars (Spotlight Review)
For all you Californication fans, God Hates Us All needs no introduction. You’re well acquainted with Hank Moody’s brooding yet witty personality, his self-destructive yet concerned demeanor, all wrapped up in a boozing, drug hazed, womanizing package. Living a lifestyle that can only be described as a functioning slacker, Hank blurs the line between tortured artist and a psychotic break waiting to happen.
While living in New York, Hank pens what has become both his big break and potential swan song, which will lead him to Los Angeles where he will watch Hollywood twist his story into something unrecognizable. God Hates Us All is a coming of age story set in Long Island, as told by a narrator who lacks not only a name, but direction, motivation and the ability to find a normal relationship. God Hates Us All may be more memoir than fiction, as it certainly reads like the prologue to Hank Moody’s current adult life
After flunking out of college, the narrator is feeling pressured by his mother to find a good job but instead, he takes a vacation with his crazy girlfriend, Daphne, which ends in a car accident and multiple stab wounds; courtesy of Daphne. A few months later, on an errand to score some weed for a friend, the narrator falls into new employment for a drug dealer calling himself The Pontiff. The new job leads to the unhealthy coveting of a rock star’s girlfriend, renting a room at the Chelsea Hotel just to be near her and a short, but eventful reunion with the psychotic Daphne--who recently tried to burn his parent's house down. While his family continues to fall apart and his mother’s health declines, our protagonist crashes through life, enduring the consequences with a sort of optimistic resignation .
God Hates Us All takes you on a voyeuristic journey of one man's all-too-familiar efforts of trying to figure out his life, by leading with his heart. Often, it was like watching your best friend drunk-dial their ex -- you want to stop them, but you know they’ll just do it after you leave. So all you can do is watch while bad decisions are made, hearts get broken and life-changing events unfold; all the while being thankful it’s not happening to you -- this time.
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Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment (September 15, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-1416598237