The Ruining of Lemus Daniel
It would appear that The Ruining of Lemus Daniel (W. Brand Publishing) comes rather quickly, as Lemus is pretty much destroyed by chapter two. But not to worry, his son Larry, who carries the narrative, makes plenty of his own ruinous choices.
The story toggles between Larry Daniel’s life story, which is a carnival ride of homelessness, fistfights and drunken escapades, and excerpts from his father’s tell-all memoir, which was written in a smoldering fury at the men he blames for his undoing.
Lemus was a talented contractor and, at times, a successful real estate developer, but he had a toddler’s sense of money management and a penchant for living on the edge — too much whiskey and cheap women. He was a horrible husband and a bad father, but he had periods when cash was king and he could glad-hand his way into celebrity circles. “Drunk or sober,” says Larry, “his behavior was unpredictable and his temper, explosive.”
Unfortunately, the proverbial apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. About half-way through The Ruining of Lemus Daniel, the reader will be amazed that both Larry and his father managed to live past 30. Besides the drinking and the drugs and the late-night hitch-hiking through bad neighborhoods, there’s more than a few women who wouldn’t mind strangling them both.
But there’s something powerful inside these men that a woman can love and a man can count on. Neither man is ever without a friend or lover, no matter how sketchy. Famously, there’s Denise, Larry’s long-suffering wife, and there’s the gang of loyal misfits who comprise the men’s circle of best buddies.
There’s a lot of packing up and moving at short notice, long-distance travel in pick-up trucks, pulling U-Hauls and the family car. Larry grows up honing his skills as a petty criminal while the people around him wreak havoc.
Both Lemus and Larry always seem to be one step ahead of their creditors — and the law. There’s always some trouble, some mess. Sneaking into a cheap motel room, Larry and a buddy roll their paraplegic friend Earl (crippled from being shot by a jealous husband) over the doorjamb to avoid being seen by the proprietor. He loses all his money at the blackjack tables on his wedding night. He runs out of gas. He stumbles and recovers, like his father before him, but the on-again off-again life is exhausting and, sooner or later, both the reader and Larry need some relief.
The last chapters show us Larry stripped down to survival mode, and we almost start to admire him. It’s been a wild ride, a good read, and by the time ambulances, firetrucks and the love of a good woman show up, we’re ready for it.
For more on Larry Daniel, please visit his author profile.
