Why not? Writer Working last encountered Don Carpenter in his very fine Hard Rain Falling. Be part of the world’s largest community of book lovers on Goodreads. Wanted more about the Beats and the era and San Francisco in the 1950 - 1960’s. His novel A Couple of Comedians is thought by some the best novel about Hollywood ever written.Fridays at Enrico’s is the story of four writers living in Northern California and Portland during the early, heady days of the Beat scene, a time of youth and opportunity. Add me to the cult. It also moves between San Francisco, LA, and Portland. It takes place in Portland, San Francisco and Southern California/Hollywood. While not near as awe inspiring as "Hard Rain Falling," (one of my top 5 books,) these flawed, striving writers and their pursuit of being published, back dimmed by the fog and rain of the Pacific NW and San Fran, parallel the plaintive lives of Billy and Jack from HRF. Please try again. Jonathan Lethem was a fan of his work and accepted the task of editing and finishing Carpenter's novel. Jonathan Lethem has done a masterful job of completing this unfinished work of the beat-era writer Don Carpenter. My review, for the San Francisco Chronicle: This is my first-time Don Carpenter read. Counterpoint; First Printing edition (April 15, 2014). LITERARY FICTION Do we need another work about the struggles of writers? Sometimes the old fashioned way, through word of mouth. Fridays at 5:30pm. Too many protagonists, situations replicated. No guess work. The manuscript was found almost complete after his suicide in 1995, but at that point couldn’t find a publisher. It's poetic and precise at the same time; full to the brim with compassion for humanity. The story takes place in the late 1950s/early 1960s in Northern California and Portland, Oregon. Something went wrong. Maybe that's how it was for Carpenter in the 1960s? Fridays at Enrico's is the story of four writers living in Northern California and Portland during the early, heady days of the Beat scene, a time of youth and opportunity. I've read a few of his books in the past year and really enjoy his writing style. April 15th 2014 I looked around and saw that he had a new book out, "Fridays at Enrico's" which was found as a manuscript in Carpenter's papers after his death and "edited and developed" by Jonathan Lethem (who also wrote an afterword for the book). Touching and melancholy, it depicts the lives and loves of four aspiring writers living in San Francisco and. I abandoned this one about page 80. I’d never heard of Don Carpenter before, but if this novel is anything to go by, what a discovery he is. Don Carpenter (3/16/31 - 7/28/95) was an American novelist. Instead I found a book filled with real people working hard at their slightly unreal jobs, i.e. It’s like I’m reading about real people I know, friends of mine, people I’ve met and loved. His novel A Couple of Comedians is thought by some the best novel about Hollywood ever written. Interesting exploration of art v commercialism. Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2014. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. He said it was the best book about writers and writing that he had ever read. He wrote numerous novels, novellas, short stories and screenplays over the course of a 22-year career that took him from a childhood in Berkeley and the Pacific Northwest to the corridors of power and ego in Hollywood. At the time of his death, Carpenter was working on a novel called Fridays at Enrico's, which was finished by Jonathan Lethem and published in 2014 by Counterpoint Press. "They drank marc and talked about James Joyce until dawn" sort of writing, with at most one comment actually about Joyce thrown in more as a testament rather than actual dialogue. The entire book is about writers and yet I cannot think of i a single interesting thing anyone says. I think he did a superb job. A fascinating look at writers and writing. The story takes place in the late 1950s/early 1960s in Northern California and Portland, Oregon. Please try again. While he begs to be excused form judging the book due to authorial conflict of interest he seems to know Fridays at Enrico's is a labor of veneration rather than the salvaging of a good unfinished book. Enjoyable read! It’s sublime, melancholy, hopeful, and quite possibly perfect. About half of the book takes place in San Francisco, and since I lived in SF for many years, I was familiar with the locations Carpenter haunts. From the start, I was really loving it. Fridays at Enrico's has become something of an instant cult favorite this year. Carpenter has cult-lit status: a talented chap who, in the 1950s, dove deep into the West Coast Beat-Hippy-Hollywood scene, and worked as hard as he partied. A very enjoyable read. This is the first book I've read by Carpenter, who wrote novels from 1965 up until his death in 1995. This book was recommended to me by my husband. Find and read more books you’ll love, and keep track of the books you want to read. His characters and locations are finely drawn and he handles emotions with depth, clarity, and ease. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. This story mixes the excitement of beginning with the melancholy of ambition, often thwarted and never satisfied. Please try again. What would a community of writers look like? I think he did a superb job. To celebrate the publication of his final novel, Friday at Enrico's, here is an annotated bibliography of his work, followed by very short biography. Fast paced. It’s not a novel that I think everyone will love, nor is it a novel that I can easily pinpoint an audience for. Be the first to ask a question about Fridays at Enrico's. A sprawling novel, centred on four writers, Fridays... moves from Portland to San Francisco, Mill Valley, Sausalito and Hollywood. As Lethem writes in his afterword; While there is no shortage of novels about the struggles of a writer, I can’t help but think that this one is special. Wanted more about the Beats and the era and San Francisco in the 1950 - 1960’s. I was somewhat puzzled by the title of the book as no real activity took place at Enrico's(my old high school haunt)until the last 50 pages of the book, however the influence of the time and the place pervaded the story from beginning to end. I was seeking the Hjortsberg biography on Brautigan which was out of stock before picking this read, the associated Hjortsberg book link made me aware of Don Carpenter as a said best friend of Brautigan. The novel follows a small group of novelists up and down the west coast as they pursue publication from the late 1950s to the 1970s. It’s sublime, melancholy, hopeful, and quite possibly perfect. almost all of the principals are writers of varying levels of fame but almost all are actually making a living at it. A book about writers, discovered unfinished after Carpenter had committed suicide. Lethem has done a masterful job of completing this unfinished work of the finest novelists working in the -. Star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we do — if it has the warmth the. Are not too many characters, it is not about Carpenters friendship with Richard 's. Hard Rain Falling Waterstones or get free UK delivery on orders over £25 unreal! 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