L.A. Breakdown (Deluxe Edition): A Novel

This book reads like poetry in that I do not pretend to understand all the terminology of this dense story saturated with love of fast cars and all their inner workings. What did resonate with me was the author’s gift of teleportation of the reader back to a time which is so Southern California-specific. Los Angeles is made up of communities which are never in a national spotlight, let alone subject for a novel. Communities like Eagle Rock, Glendale, South Pasadena, Elysian Heights, etc. Yet each of those areas in the 1960s had a vibrant racing fast car community.

Anyone who grew up in that time knew a group of kids who spent their last dime on fixing up cars, and when they didn’t have the money; siphoning gas or taking what they needed. Whether it was racing Crown school buses down ten or sixty in the small hours of the morning, or evading the ever vigilant local police, they needed the excitement of pushing the limits of their cars. This is a masterfully informed work and a page turner.