From dust to dust, I guess you can say. This is really a sad love story about a man who thinks the most important thing in life is being a famous writer. Then he meets a waitress, and we realize that deep down, more than anything else, he really wants love. But the woman he loves is a junkie, and that's the tragedy. He'll never have the real thing that would give his life meaning. I love this book. The sad ending. The style of writing. Of course I found this book through reading Charles Bukowski and he mentions this title. Great book. Recommended. I just came off reading another novel about drug abusers, Permanent Obscurity. Weird, but this book was the perfect follow up. If you like Charles Bukowski or Richard Perez, you'll really like this.