Spare Change

I really enjoyed being surprised by this book. It takes you on a journey that makes you feel you're going through the experiences he's describing . The story takes place in San Francisco, Calif. present day. The main character has a great deal to offer but right now he's down on his luck. When he arrived someone took most of the money he brought with him, which places him sleeping over night in the Civic Center Plaza. What takes place next I'll leave for you to discover for yourself. There is beauty in this work, it's worth your time. DON'T MISS READING IT. Michelle Chateau

Maybe the reality of the setting, maybe the plot events, and probably the interactions between people did it to me...made the skin in the middle of my back tighten, sent a frisson of anxiety rippling through me, drew an involuntary squirm of apprehension and discomfort from me.I liked this book because it could have easily been me and people I know in this situation. All the characters faced the unfolding events with a real, believable mixture of common sense and unprepared incredulity..."this simply can't be happening to me!" There were none of the cute little artificial plot lines, no Rosetta Stones of miraculous revelations, to move the story along. There was only the real-life gradual accumulation of another piece to the puzzle, each piece revealing an ugly, uglier, then terrifying understanding of what was happening.The characters were real people, as well as the events. I could taste the liquor as Jeff Talbot lunged for its numbing embrace (OK, in my case it was cigarettes, but the compulsive lunge of an addict toward his heart's insane desire is equally real in any language.) Suzann and Katy were equally real people, almost exactly like ladies I know. And you, too, would be dumbfounded and slow to realize the truth if you were unlocking your car door, and a heavyweight bullet thunked through the door next to your knee. And you, too, would feel your stomach lurch and suck dry with the kick of irretrievable loss when...This really isn't a mystery or a thriller. It is a mysterious and thrilling story about loss and redemption, hopelessness and self-discovery, aimlessness and new meaning. Trite? But, true! You'll remember these characters a long time...maybe, always.