Mike Miner

Prodigal Sons is the story of three brothers who have sort of lost their way in this modern world of ours.

Luke literally has bats in his belfry, fell for a girl he met in the institution, and got promoted in his job because everyone above him quit. Luke is drifting in his mind and haunted by the bats he sees circling above him.

Matthew has been having a long love affair with a bottle of alcohol, any bottle, in large quantities. He has a beautiful wife, a new sparkling decorated house in Santa Clarita, and a job in the industry. But all the palm trees and endless sunny skies can’t make him happy. Bar after bar he goes to, drowning some kind of emptiness inside him, till he crashes and burns and goes off in a jet-fueled last ride through the apocalypse.

Mark, the third brother, seems outwardly the most well-adjusted of the three, but he, too, seems a bit morose, working in his dad’s grocery, staying with his folks while his house is remodeled, wondering what the hell is wrong with his too crazy brothers.

Miner alternates between chapters each featuring a brother until, of course, magically they all meet up. It is a dark novel filled with alcoholic fantasies and endless empty towns out of Mad Max movies filled with wheel-less trailers and ice cream shops. Part of it feels like a remake of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Part of it feels like an endless binge that just goes deeper and deeper.
This is absolutely well-written and has a sort of driving rhythm to it that just keeps turning the pages. It is a dark, foreboding journey and its well worth reading. But, don’t expect it to follow the classic patterns of a standard novel. It is not like that at all.
… (mere)