Ride
A Young Man’s Journey Though Addiction
by Andrew Lafleche
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Pub Date Aug 04 2020 | Archive Date Apr 30 2024
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Description
Ride is for those caught in the grip of addiction and for the ones who love them, desperate to understand.
Ride possesses an unnerving air of documentary reality that's heartbreaking and authentic at the same time. This searing novel is a dizzying spiral of desperation set in the early 2000s in St. Catharines, Ontario. High school is over, an ex-girlfriend is pregnant, and Troy Brinkman is losing control. Having just moved out of his parent's home, Troy enters a landscape of limitless moral entropy where everybody drinks copious amounts of alcohol, snorts mountains of cocaine, and swallows as many Ecstasy pills as they can get their hands on.
When he's not seething for his next high, Troy cruises parties, strip-clubs, and bars for action in a desperate attempt to avoid coming to terms with his best friend's attempted suicide. In this binge-life, Troy recognizes his impending doom and tries to renew feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Danielle, his sole through-line that connects Troy to who he was before his habits became him. It's this struggle which threatens to get the better of, consume, and ultimately destroy his dreams.
Ride is the millennial's contemporary version of the classic 1960s counterculture novel, an authentic, unrelenting, and strangely exhilarating episodic group portrait of blasted lives. Readers will catch familiar whiffs of the nihilism and loneliness in the darkest writings of Thompson, Bukowski, and Jack Kerouac in Lafleche's gritty 'sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll' world of excess, self-gratification, and black comedy.
A Note From the Publisher
Thank you for joining me on this Ride. I wrote it with the understanding that when young men become readers, they become better men. Troy’s story, the youth in his peer group, these are the stories of the people I grew up around. These are the real-life issues that plague adolescence and comprise the defining moments in their lives. If you were spared this kind of upbringing, you’re one of the lucky ones. For everybody else, you’re not alone. If we’re going to reach the youth, we must give them stories they can relate to, raw and uncensored. We must tell the truth no matter what it looks like. We share these stories so that our Troy’s can make the mistakes so that we don’t have to. This is what Ride does.
Thank you for taking the time to read my novel.
If you loved the book and have a minute to spare, I would be grateful for a short review on Amazon. Reviews from readers like you make a huge difference in helping new readers find stories like Ride. Your help in spreading the word is greatly appreciated.
And remember, no matter your past, your future is the better story.
Thank you.
-Andrew Lafleche
Advance Praise
"Andrew Lafleche is an honest and courageous writer. There is an eyes-wide-open accuracy to his work, no matter the subject matter. Hemingway once said of writers he admired: 'They're true gen,' meaning they were the genuine article, writers he considered incapable of deceit, and incapable of playing dumb. Andrew is a True Gen writer." —Ron Corbett, award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and author of the Frank Yakabuski crime novels
"He's like a surgeon with a shotgun." —Akeem Duncan, Quiet Lunch Magazine
"The memories kicked up by this trip lead Troy on a bender of extreme and violent proportions-he robs drug dealers, ruins friendships, and fills his system with whatever chemicals he can. As he self-destructs, he tells himself to just "enjoy the ride," but that may be because he doesn't realize the dark places that the ride will take him. Lafleche tells the story in Troy's own voice-a caustic blend of casual slurs, teenage id, and affected nihilism-and the novel as a whole fits very well within the tradition of transgressive literature." —Kirkus Reviews
"Andrew Lafleche's Ride, like a sharp new switchblade, has a dangerous weight to it. Troy accidentally stabs his friend, his parents are divorcing, he's high risk with sex, drugs, and crime, and he's giving his life the finger. Ride is highway speed and echoes Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, only with Canadian accents." —Gerald Arthur Moore, author of Shatter the Glass, Shards of Flame
"I laughed. I cried. I cringed." —Karen Connelly, best-selling author of The Change Room
"Andrew Lafleche's RIDE is a poignant, wild ride through a drug-fueled coming of age in the early 2000s that will equally break your heart. Filled with propulsive writing, it's a must read!" —Lee Matthew Goldberg, acclaimed author of The Mentor and The Ancestor
"To understand Lafleche's work is to understand the anguish of our youth." —Times Book Review
“This book pushes all the boundaries; you’ll be able to exhale when you finally put it down.” —Lee Luyben-Switzer
“Raw, rowdy, and disturbing.” —The BookLife Prize
"Lafleche's Ride is a fast-paced binge in a style that resembles early American detective fiction like Mickey Spillane's. Dialogue is terse, punch-rough, and trade-sex-ready as the action explodes like gas on a fire. The main character, Troy, tries to douse his own burning desires with beer, sex, and drugs, only to feel raw regret each morning. The things he does, or fails to do, are like melted beer cans among the ashes of morning-and he hasn't seen his shrink in days. 'I am nobody, who knows nothing, ' Leary's third generation 'turned on, tuned in, and dropping out' as Lafleche weaves a counterculture of loathing that mirrors a Hunter S. Thompson circus party. This is a bush party in the heart of the city, and in the heart of Troy. The question is: will he survive? —Keith Inman, author of The War Poems and SEAsya
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781989266274 |
| PRICE | CA$9.99 (CAD) |
| PAGES | 230 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Kevin W, Educator
In the heart-wrenching work of Andrew Lafleche's "Ride," we are ushered into a stark and unforgiving reality, where addiction becomes a relentless specter that haunts the afflicted and those who love them. This searing novel, set in the early 2000s in St. Catharines, Ontario, is a raw and unapologetic portrayal of one young man's tumultuous journey through the abyss of addiction.
High school has faded into memory, and Troy Brinkman stands at the precipice of adulthood -- where the choices that are made can define a lifetime. The weight of his past mistakes looms heavily as an ex-girlfriend's pregnancy bears the burden of his own transgressions. It is in this turbulent juncture that we meet Troy, a young man teetering on the edge, desperately grasping for control in a world spiraling out of control.
Moving out of his parent's home becomes a journey into moral entropy, where every pill, every line, and every drink is a fleeting escape from the relentless pull of addiction. Lafleche paints a vivid, at times gut-wrenching, portrait of a generation steeped in self-indulgence, where the quest for the next high becomes an all-consuming pursuit.
Amid the haze of substance abuse, Troy seeks solace in the chaos of parties, strip clubs, and bars. It is a futile attempt to evade the harsh reality of his best friend's suicide attempt, a dark shadow that looms over his life. Yet, in the midst of this binge-fueled existence, there is a fragile thread that ties him to his former self -- the love he holds for his ex-girlfriend, Danielle.
This love is the anchor to Troy's past and the compass to his future, that becomes his salvation and his crucible. The struggle to rekindle his feelings for Danielle becomes a battle for his soul, one that could either lead him to redemption or plunge him further into the abyss.
In "Ride," we find a contemporary echo of the counterculture novels of the 1960s, a visceral and unrelenting odyssey through the lives of those haunted by their own excesses. Lafleche's narrative is an unflinching portrayal of a world saturated with nihilism, loneliness, and the relentless pursuit of self-gratification. As we journey through the darkest recesses of addiction and self-destruction, we are reminded of the echoes of Hunter S. Thompson, Charles Bukowski, and Jack Kerouac in Lafleche's gritty and unapologetic exploration of a world marked by excess, black comedy, and a quest for meaning.
"Ride" is a haunting narrative that explores the human spirit's resilience and capacity for redemption, even in the face of overwhelming despair. It's a story that will resonate with those who have battled addiction, those who love them, and anyone seeking a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness. Andrew Lafleche's novel reminds us that even in the depths of addiction, there is the potential for redemption and the possibility of finding one's way back to the light.
"An unflinching portrait of addiction's gripping abyss -- 'Ride' will haunt your thoughts."
"Andrew Lafleche's 'Ride' -- A heart-wrenching odyssey through the shadows of addiction."
"A raw and unapologetic dive into the depths of a troubled soul."
"Troy Brinkman's journey: A poignant exploration of addiction's harsh realities."
"A tale of despair and hope in the face of addiction's clutches."
"An authentic narrative that echoes the dark realities of addiction."
"A gripping chronicle of one young man's battle with inner demons."
"Andrew Lafleche's 'Rise' -- A gritty and unforgettable exploration of self destruction."
"Witness the resilience of the human spirit amidst addiction's darkness."
"A harrowing memoir that leaves a lasting impression."
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