Forgotten Book: ROAD TRIP by Mark Finn, 2011

FORGOTTEN BOOK: Road Trip by Mark Finn, 2011

This is the 118th in my series of Forgotten Books.

I have known Mark Finn for a great many years. We have similar tastes in a number of areas though he tends to act with a little less timidity than I would show. He has a great collection of fezzes and is distressed to know that every time he wears one people accuse him of being a Whovian. And when I saw a flyer for a seminar on how to build your own ape suit, I could think of no one more suitable to send it to than Mark. He almost went to it, too. (See the comment about timidity above).

Mark, when he decides to write which is about as infrequently as me, can do some wonderful things with prose. Take this week’s book. Road Trip. Pretty are inspiring cover, isn’t it? No? Ok, so it is a print on demand title from Lulu. Back cover says Monkeyhaus Publishing.

But the story. That is fun. Aaron King is hitchhiking down Interstate 5 when a 1963 pink Cadillac convertible pulls up. A beautiful car, driven by a baby in diapers. Well, not exactly a baby. It is Cupid behind the wheel. He is headed to Texas to try and find his mother Venus whom he has not spoken to in a 100 years. Aaron thinks this is weird but a ride is a ride is a ride. They begin swapping stories and Cupid tells Aaron that he finally got an idea of where his mom was from Daedelus. Aaron twitches a little bit. Yes, the guy with the wings and the labyrinth.

And Cupid is fascinated by Aaron who bears a strong resemblance to a dead King of Rock and Roll. Even shares part of his name with him (actually both parts if you count in the title.

So this road trip goes through California and Arizona and New Mexico with commentary on life, women, and legends. They meet up with Horace (or was it Horus) and his funny gets into fights. Aaron tells Cupid of his life, how he does not remember much because he was a secret government spy, trained in all sorts of areas with lots of missions which all sound suspiciously like movies for a King. And how his mind was wiped when he retired from that, but occasionally the government still tries to chase him down.

It’s a fun book. A great road story. Just not a Hope and Crosby movie. Maybe a Fonda and Hopper, though I don’t want to imagine either of those guys with wings, a diaper, and a bow.

At 100 pages, it’s a little short on length but fine on content. You might want to pick it up before Aaron has left the building.

Series organizer Patti Abbott hosts more Friday Forgotten Book reviews at her own blog, and posts a complete list of participating blogs.