Los Angeles, CA

Henry Chinaski's hometown, Los Angeles, provides the background for most of the novel. Henry's parents still live there, and he moves in briefly after the long train ride from New Orleans. They clash instantly, and he flees to New York. After a while there and in Philadelphia and St. Louis, Henry returns to LA and takes a cheap room on Alvarado St. In a nearby bar, he meets Laura, who hooks him up with millionaire Wilbur Oxnard, whose crumbling mansion is also on Alvarado. Henry works for a bicycle shop until he is fired for goofing off. He then meets the sexually insatiable Jan at a lunch counter and moves in with her three days later. While working for an auto parts warehouse on Flower St., Henry he meets Manny, an ace handicapper, with whom he grows moderately wealthy betting at Hollywood Park. Fired again...