The Drugstore Cowboy

The novel that inspired the major motion picture directed by Gus Van Sant Bob Hughes, the offbeat, edgy, and slightly skewed leader of a crew of traveling junkies, describes himself as “one of the cleverest and ringiest and most notorious dope fiend drugstore cowboys on the entire West Coast, including Alaska.” Bob, his wife, Diane, Rick, and Nadine have a penchant for robbing drugstores and grabbing pills and capsules to support their habit and relieve their boredom. It’s an all-too-real examination of the addict’s domain: the euphoria, the paranoia, the busts, the overdoses, the haunting reality of trying to survive your own world. But James Fogle—who based this extraordinary novel on his own experiences, and who spent thirty-five years of his life in prison—has turned their lives into something darkly comic. Set in Portland, Oregon, in the early 1970s, Drugstore Cowboy is a resonating evocation of life at the bottom, and yet, by portraying his characters without judgment or glamor, Fogle has illuminated them. His debut novel is a singular work of contemporary fiction.

Although “The Drugstore Cowboy” (published in 1927 and unrelateld to the movie of the same name) has some crime elements, including a stolen car and a high-speed police chase, it is primarily a Jazz Age tale. Filmed, it would have made a terrific screwball comedy in the right director’s hands—imagine young actors Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in the starring roles as you read. If you are a fan of Woolrich's mysteries, this is a worthy addition to his oeuvre, showcases elements he would later bring to the fore as a mystery writer.

In Drugstore Cowboy, Backside Of The Mirror, it's 15 years later in the life of Bob Hughes. Things are very different for Bob. He's sober, off drugs. He goes to his steady job, goes to counseling, plays golf with Det. Gentry, his former nemesis, and lives with his mom. And mom of course is still very much mom, keeping a close watch over him to see that his bed is properly made and socks neatly put away in his dresser. Then his two ex's--woman and partner, Diane and Rick--show up, on the run from the police, she shot in the thigh. Their lives are thrown into a vortex of turmoil that Bob never could have imagined and has little control over.

Si Bonnie et Clyde ont inventé le braquage de banque, Bob et Diane, eux, se sont spécialisés dans le braquage des pharmacies du nord de la côte ouest des USA, afin de se fournir en drogues. Le roman satirique d'une jeunesse en déroute aspirant à l'anarchie et à la défaite des valeurs américaines. "Demander à un toxico pourquoi il se drogue, c'est un peu comme demander à une personne normale pourquoi elle aime baiser. Je suppose que chacun ira de sa réponse, des trucs comme : "Ça me fait du bien" ou " Je ne peux pas m'en empêcher", voire "Ça fait partie de l'amour" ou encore "Je ne le fais que pour avoir des enfants". Eh bien, un junkie vous donnera à peu près les mêmes réponses, à l'exception peut-être de la dernière. J'ai encore jamais entendu un camé prétendre qu'il se shootait pour avoir des gosses ; en revanche, le reste, oui".

Drugstore Camera feels like a stumbled-upon treasure, a disposable camera you forgot about and only just remembered to develop. Yet in this case the photographer is Dennis Hopper and the photographs, remarkably, are never before published. Shot in Taos, New Mexico, where Hopper was based following the production of Easy Rider in the late 60s, the series was taken with disposable cameras and developed in drugstore photo labs. This clothbound collection documents Hopper's friends and family among the ruins and open vistas of the desert landscape, female nudes in shadowy interiors, road trips to and from his home state of Kansas and impromptu still lifes of discarded objects. These images, capturing iconic individuals and wide-open Western terrain, create a captivating view of the 60s and 70s that combines political idealism and optimism with California cool. Dennis Hopper (1936-2010) was born in Dodge City, Kansas. He first appeared on television in 1954 and quickly became a cult actor, known for films such as Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Easy Rider (1969), The American Friend (1977), Apocalypse Now (1979), Blue Velvet (1986) and Hoosiers (1986). In 1988 he directed the critically acclaimed Colors. Hopper was also a prolific photographer and published now-classic portraits of celebrities such as Andy Warhol and Martin Luther King Jr. His works are housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others.

This is a matter-of-fact, philosophical and pscyhological look at smart, yet wild addicts - what drove them, and why they repeatedly risked all to score. This books examines the drugstore cowboy craze that exploded in Toronto from 1972-1986. An intense look behind the scenes, we understand what drove them, and learn why this happened. These are true stories - the names are changed to protect the guilty, and the events altered to confuse police. A cutting view of a wide-spread problem. Addiction and moxie got them in, while insanity got them out. Action and adrenaline are splashed everywhere; cops, pharmacists, judges, lawyers, counselors, & jail guards add a unique cast of Falstaffian proportions, opening doors few peer behind. Full of life, the book satirizes sanity, while each page spoofs the sublime. Full of crazy stunts, we witness hilarity and despair—it examines both sides of the street, and discovers many similarities. Ultimately, we see addiction is widespread; sobriety is only one detox away from retox. This is a never before examination of what drove these addicts, and shows many tricks, many scams, and many downright gutsy methods to grab pharmaceutical drugs. From sophisticated to severe, they wanted what was behind that prescription counter. Life and addiction collide, exploding like fireworks, sparks fly and sparks jump off the page, showing how certain lifestyles can't be combined, like matter and anti-matter, they annihilate each other. When they were up they flew, but when down, they crashed and burned. Our character started off with Candide-like warmth: life and circumstance gave him a Tom Sawyer-esque talent with people, along with his own unique philosophy of taking the good with the bad, always wishing goodness would win. The author was responsible for all aspects of this book, hence the raw nature of the prose.

Childhood to maturity is a leap often missed, and often relived, again and again. Cut to a reader's timeline, this new version has Zach plodding through disruptive days, and equally disorderly nights, leaving sirens wailing, and narcotic cabinets empty. This tale follows the antics of a successful drugstore cowboy, showing the influences that have an intense effect on anyone, and follows his journey to maturity. Full of action and abnormality, there is humor, despair, insanity, and love; a definite timeline that rises and falls, depending on the circumstances. Ultimately a quest from childhood to a normal-hood, we see a typical suburban upbringing, spontaneously interrupted and jerked violently up and down, his upbringing rattles a lot of acorns off the trees, filling the book quite the cast of nuts. A cast of Falstaffian proportions: from Judges, pyschologists, and police, we meet many characters, all with their own version of crazy-one man's normalacy is another man's insanity. The story challenges what defines reality, and asks who is egotistical enough to claim total understanding, or omnicient enough to impose their opinions on the world. These were the best of times, they were the worst of times; the age of wisdom, the age of sorrow; a time of lightness, a time of darkness. Reality. With adventure and realism, you'll love this book...educational and entertaining, there's always something happening. We were invincible. Untouchable. Outside the law, there was nothing we would not do. Afraid of nothing, searching for something, we experimented with everything and ignored the lessons of the past, for we were the vanguard of a new age, expanding understanding with the science of the future. We sought new frontiers of the mind, smashing boundaries with drugs, new ideas, and artificial bravado. We were legends in our own minds, and a bit delusional - must've been the drugs. Full of life, this satirizes sanity, and each page spoofs the sublime. This narrative covers both sides of the street, and discovers many similarities. Real truth is padded with lies...making it palatable for the average consumer, showing everything is under control (insert loud guffaw).

In 1964, Patricia MacKay immigrated to Canada from England in search of the wild-open lands and cowboy culture that captivated her as a child. In the 1960s, the Wild West was still alive and kicking in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, although it had been tamed--a little. Old-time hospitality and helping anyone in need was the acknowledged way of life. Pat learned the Cariboo-Chilcotin way of life first hand by spending her summers working on guest ranches and finding other jobs to keep her occupied during the winter. From learning how to cook on the job to kitchen disasters and successes, roundups, branding, square dances and falling in love, she slowly gained acceptance into the tight-knit communities of BC's Interior. Ranching meant long hours, hard work, and a lifestyle all its own. Entertainment was homemade. There were rodeos, dances, and music around campfires in the summer and ice hockey, tobogganing, and parties in the winter. Sadly, that way of life is gradually disappearing, but this book relives the way things were between 1964 and 1976; it tells of a unique brand of people from a variety of backgrounds who made this part of the west their home.