The News Clown

"A flashy, satirical style keeps the narrative fresh, entertaining and eminently readable throughout" – Publishers Weekly. An incendiary, high-velocity masterwork of unparalleled ambition hailed as the Book of the Century, THE NEWS CLOWN tells the story of Thor, a young man whose dreams of a literary career have been sidetracked into an undemanding job as a "news clown" for a small wire service in the crime-infested back alleys of Bay City. As Thor struggles with his inner demons, the national news clowns are cheering on President Wolfgang G. Mnung as he threatens a Middle Eastern dictator who may have stockpiled as many as 4,000 PlayStation video game units from which, according to sources, he might fashion a crude supercomputer to control weapons of untold devastation. Amid the struggle for fame and the big story, Thor falls for the wealthy attorney Chrissy, whose craving for booze and the high life are matched only by Thor's own. Heather, meanwhile, is dying, and Jerry thinks Christianity and Narcotics Anonymous might be the next cure for his failed rock career. Hank's high on killing Muslims and utopia, while Toby thinks his wife has turned to cottage cheese and is gunning to join the Marines. Kate, for her part, would like a baby. And Thor must suddenly deal with his father, who has been arrested and forced into rehab. THE NEWS CLOWN is punchy, raw, written in the tight, sinewy fashion of classic news wire service feed. Tension abounds between self-promotion and self-awareness. And it is funny as hell. THE NEWS CLOWN – a story of the smells, the sounds, the fears and petty triumphs in the life of the street reporter. THE NEWS CLOWN – a darkly-lit portrait of the USA during the War On Terror, from the bloodstained ghetto street to the celebrity ball, from the White House to the glass super-cathedral and the death-row execution chamber. Finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

"A flashy, satirical style keeps the narrative fresh, entertaining and eminently readable throughout" – Publishers Weekly. "Like Hunter S. Thompson meets Russ Meyer's Under the Valley of the Supervixens meets Daft Punk – wearing a press pass and a smiley badge to a San Francisco gangbang" – Goodreads An incendiary, high-velocity masterwork of unparalleled ambition hailed as the Book of the Century, THE NEWS CLOWN tells the story of Thor, a young man whose dreams of a literary career have been sidetracked into an undemanding job as a "news clown" for a small wire service in the crime-infested back alleys of Bay City. As Thor struggles with his inner demons, the national news clowns are cheering on President Wolfgang G. Mnung as he threatens a Middle Eastern dictator who may have stockpiled as many as 4,000 PlayStation video game units from which, according to sources, he might fashion a crude supercomputer to control weapons of untold devastation. Amid the struggle for fame and the big story, Thor falls for the wealthy attorney Chrissy, whose craving for booze and the high life are matched only by Thor's own. Heather, meanwhile, is dying, and Jerry thinks Christianity and Narcotics Anonymous might be the next cure for his failed rock career. Hank's high on killing Muslims and utopia, while Toby thinks his wife has turned to cottage cheese and is gunning to join the Marines. Kate, for her part, would like a baby. And Thor must suddenly deal with his father, who has been arrested and forced into rehab. THE NEWS CLOWN is punchy, raw, written in the tight, sinewy fashion of classic news wire service feed. Tension abounds between self-promotion and self-awareness. And it is funny as hell. THE NEWS CLOWN – a story of the smells, the sounds, the fears and petty triumphs in the life of the street reporter. THE NEWS CLOWN – a darkly-lit portrait of the USA during the War On Terror, from the bloodstained ghetto street to the celebrity ball, from the White House to the glass super-cathedral and the death-row execution chamber. Finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

Thor Garcia was born in Long Beach, California. He has worked as a journalist in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and Prague, Czech Republic. His other books include the story collections TUND (Litteraria Pragensia, 2011) and ONLY FOOLS DIE OF HEARTBREAK (Equus Press, 2013).