420 Characters (Hardcover)
Description
Within this collection of miniature stories, entire worlds take shape—some like our own, some hallucinatory fairylands--populated by heartsick cowboys, random criminals, lovers and drifters. In a dazzling narrative constellation, Beach’s characters contend with the strange and terrible and beautiful in life, and no outcome is certain. Begun as a series of Facebook status updates, 420 Characters marks a new turn in an acclaimed artist and illustrator’s career, and features original collages by the author.
About the Author
Lou Beach’s illustrations have appeared in Wired, The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Los Angeles Times, and many others. He has designed album covers for Weather Report, The Neville Brothers, Blink 182, and many others. This is his first book of prose.
Praise for 420 Characters…
PRAISE FOR 420 CHARACTERS
"A dreamy collection of mini stories and illustrations..."
--New York Magazine
"Marvels of economy."
--New York Times T Magazine
"Beach injects these tidy depictions with...boundless, michievous imagination... Unforced, thoughtful, occasionally profound...sly, surprising, playful, puzzling--and great fun."
--Publishers Weekly
--Kirkus Reviews "Sharp and driven by a droll witl...endearing and estranging...a sharp and wonderfully funny debut...these stories add up to something wonderful."
--Library Journal
"Holy shit! Those are great! ... May they last a thousand years and be chiseled in stone."
-Jonathan Lethem
"Lou Beach uses words with no sympathy for the reader. He beats us senseless with his brilliance."
-Terry Gilliam
"[Beach] understands narrative in a deep way."
-J. Robert Lennon
"Lou Beach is full of wit, mirth and intelligence."--Gary Panter, Emmy Award-winning author of Jimbo in Purgatory
"In only a few sentences, he remarkably manages to evoke character, milieu and mood."
-Joe Frank, Peabody Award-winning radio personality
"Bizarre and awesome."
—Bookslut
PRAISE FOR THE ARTWORK OF LOU BEACH
"The art of Lou Beach is probably smarter than you."
-Matt Groening
"Very precise hallucinations ... taking your breath away."
-George Saunders
"Original, provocative, definitely outside the box."
-Jeff Bridges
