You comma Idiot delves into the life of a small time drug dealer in Montreal named Lee Goodstone. He’s a likeable, skinny funny looking guy who has no ambition thanks to drugs. The television blasts constantly in his huge warehouse apartment to fend off loneliness. His life consists of lazing around or hitting his friends up for their fixes of hash.
Eventually, he becomes so lazy that he doesn’t have the motivation to sell drugs to his friends anymore. This brings Lee trouble from his dealer and “Cuz”, a crazy ugly and aspiring drug dealer who is ready to scrap with anyone for looking at him the wrong way. "Now he's older and thicker and a lot meaner to look at. No one scraps with him anymore. It's not worth it. Everyone's gotten older and mellowed, but he still wants to fight to the death."
Drug Dealer’s Friend Suspected of Murder in You comma Idiot
More trouble begins when Lee sleeps with his best friend Johnny’s girlfriend Honey. Johnny is a popular well connected guy Lee has known since childhood. It gets worse when his old friend Henry is accused of kidnapping and murder. Henry’s burnt out from mourning his father’s murder and years of drug abuse, but he doesn’t have a violent past. Could he be capable of killing his girlfriend? He doesn’t have much of an alibi or sense enough to even try to defend himself.
Thoughts on You comma Idiot
Sometimes the choppy sentence styles were distracting, but Doug Harris does have a talent for making his points succinctly. He also has a flair for dark comedy, which I suspect he developed the hard way. Even though his humour is slightly sick, I found myself laughing throughout the story several times.
You comma Idiot was written in the second person, but in my opinion it would have read better from a first person point of view, especially since it was from the perspective of Lee Goodstone. Lee eventually takes stock of himself and considers settling down and obtaining a normal job, which is no wonder after he was involved in so much undesirable drama.
One of the messages of You comma Idiot is that no matter how easy this seedy sort of lifestyle may seem, the dangers are definitely not worth the hassle. There was some mild sexuality, violence and vulgarity, but that sort of goes with the lifestyle. Because Doug didn’t glamorize dangerous drug dealing, You comma Idiot (Goose Lane Editions, 2010) teaches a valuable lesson.
About Doug Harris
Doug Harris is an award winning video producer and Canadian writer from Montreal. Some of his previous jobs that add colour to his writing included unloading watermelon and disposing of animal corpses. He also worked his way through film school as a hospital orderly. You comma Idiot is Doug Harris' debut Canadian novel and his comedic talent has definitely made a unique mark.
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