Low Roads and Highways

The author describes his nonfiction book as a "Reality Novel," to be compared with "Reality Television." But the reality is that this story pretends to be shallow and without depth, like Reality Television; yet the entire book, which takes place over the course of a winter and spring, parallels a famous Italian epic poem from the 1300's. The story details Joel's winter stay at a horse ranch in Utah's high desert, and a road trip from California to Georgia to attend a wedding. The encounters he has with desert rats, drunken bar flys, strange hitch hikers and others along the way are recorded in amazing detail. There are layers of disfunction, spirituality, metaphor, and allegory throughout the book, leaving the reader amused and sustained on every mental level.