Scoundrel Days

Tom Sawyer on acid, a 21st-century On the Road, a Holden Caulfield for punks ... an extraordinary memoir of a wild adolescence, told in a compelling, poetic voice. In Scoundrel Days Brentley Frazer tells the story of his youth - wild, disillusioned, impassioned and desolate. Born into a Christian cult in outback Queensland, Frazer escapes through literature and poetry, drugs and violence, sex and alcohol; and his ensuing rejection of religion, authority and the ''way things are'' leads to adventures, desperation and, just possibly, redemption. Beautifully written and urgently told, Scoundrel Days is a visceral, compelling assault on the senses. An at times brutal story articulated with a poet''s sensibility, it portrays a walker of edges exploring the dark side while searching for the love essential to build a soul.