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**
THERE IS NO END
TO THIS SLOPE
Richard
Fulco. Wampus Mulitmedia, $17.99 paperback (270p) ISBN: 978-0979747175
In
his darkly humorous debut novel, Richard Fulco offers an extremely readable,
freewheeling style that blends high-octane prose with elements of playwriting
and poetry. Gianni Lenza, the troubled narrator, doesn’t know what he wants. Or
maybe he does know, and what he wants is unattainable. A thirty-something New
York City book salesman from Staten Island, Lenza is obsessed with his
long-deceased childhood friend/confidant/soul mate Stephanie. He blames himself
for her tragic death and dooms every subsequent romantic relationship into
which he has the fortune or misfortune of stumbling. On an emotional level, Lenza’s
growth has stalled. And yet it doesn’t stop him from marrying Emma, a high
school teacher with struggles of her own, namely alcoholism. Nor does it stop
him from a later relationship with Dawn, a married actress unwilling to leave
her husband but who contends that Lenza is the love of her life. Spurred by old
guilt and mounting failures, Lenza’s downward spiral is hard and abrupt. Along
the dangerous curves he meets colorful characters who offer support in strange
ways. Teeny, a flamboyant personality at a local coffee shop, provides
prescription pills and encouragement. Richard, a homeless man, brings
companionship and booze. Havannah, perhaps the biggest stretch here in terms of
believability, is a soothsaying, sexually aggressive drug addict who shows Lenza
a window to his future. Throughout, Fulco relies heavily on stripped-down
dialogue to advance the plot. The upside: It can be snappy and compelling. The downside:
It sometimes borders on triteness. Further, as a reader it’s hard to cheer for
Lenza because he commands little to no sympathy. He’s shallow and reckless, and
his inability to initiate any positive change makes him hard to like. From this
vantage point, what the novel then becomes is a stinging and successful exploration
of self-punishment and self-sabotage. (March 2014)
Purchase
There Is No End To This Slope HERE.
Reviewer
bio: Mel Bosworth is the author of the novel FREIGHT. Visit his website at melbosworth.com
