A тАЬfunny, relentless, haunting, and highly readableтАЭ novel about one manтАЩs desperate gambling addiction (ForeWord Magazine).
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P is a school bus driver in Florida, and six month ago he won a hundred grand at the casino. What his wife and family donтАЩt realize is that the money is long gone. To keep them fooledтАФand feed his ongoing compulsionтАФhe indulges in bigger and bigger bets, scrounging for cash anywhere he can. Finally, faced with the ultimate financial crisis, he hits it really big. Yet winning, he soon learns, is just the beginning of a deeper problem┬а.┬а.┬а.
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тАЬAllen takes his place on a continuum that begins, perhaps, with DostoyevskyтАЩs Gambler, courses through Malcolm LowryтАЩs Under the Volcano, William S.┬аBurroughsтАЩs Junky, [and] the collected works of Charles Bukowski and Hubert Selby Jr.┬а.┬а.┬а. colorfully evokes the gambling milieu.тАЭ тАФThe New York Times Book Review
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тАЬThis is strongly recommended and deserves a wide audience; an excellent choice for book discussion groups.тАЭ тАФLibrary Journal