Story 1 Summary

This collection of (sometimes very) short stories explores the drug-influenced (induced?) experiences of their anonymous narrator, a young man living and surviving the turbulent early-1970s in America. While the individual stories vividly portray a series of intense encounters with death, desire and despair, the collection as a whole explores (stylistically, linguistically, and narratively) themes relating to the need for and value of human contact, the tension between hopelessness and compassion, and the pervasive effect of drug use and addiction.

"Car Crash While Hitchhiking"

The story begins with a description of the three people the narrator rode with at the beginning of his journey - a salesman, a Cherokee Indian, and a college student. He describes how he and each of these people consumed alcohol and a variety of drugs, and suggests that somehow, he knew about the next car to pick him...