Jones Inn [Paperback]

Stephen Elliot (Author), Various (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

Jones Inn is about thieves, hustlers, con men, and beautiful junkies. Same old story, same old nothing. Forget Trainspotting, forget Ginsberg. This is a street level crawl through sewers, juvie homes, wet dime bag love, short term chicago squats, and long term slow motion suicides. Tyrell, Scales, sunny, Mary and Paul. five best friends, five pretty losers going down into the hole. Going down hard, going down mean. And when the ride was all over, every memory would be just another old bruise.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A dynamite debut from a young writer certain to make his mark."-Andrew Vachss, Shella -- Publisher Comments

About the Author

Raised in Chicago group homes, Stephen Elliott is a writer who imbues his work with the kind of gravel in the mouth authenticity one can only get from a lifetime of soul crushing experiences. Despite being homeless for over a year and being locked up for a fair portion of his youth, Stephen Elliott completed a degree at the University of Illinois and a masters degree at Northwestern University.

In 1994 Elliot was the winner of the James L. Rainey Award for fiction with his short story entitled "Two Men". More than just another thug aritsan, Elliot is an award winning author of many short stories that have been published in The James White Review, Strong Coffee, Little America, Flowers on the Razorwire and The Sun.

To read an excerpt of Jones Inn you can check out www.vachss.com or www.nowhere500.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Boneyard Pr; 1st edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964602725
• ISBN-13: 978-0964602724
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,292,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peregrinate nowhere fast, furious, with angst! It's Fun&Real, December 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Jones Inn (Paperback)

Journey with the narrator as he takes you on ride through real pain. See the suffering roll off the back and slip from the tongue. It's cool yet disturbing. You are on the verge of understanding yet you are left with truth. A very compelling story of a man, his choices , and the way the dice roll in this flip, flop, till you stop drama. I was exceptionally impressed with the raw feeling the book had. After reading this book you'll know what it's like to go to hell and come back with a story. This author puts to rest the mystery that lies just beyond your vision, in your neighborhood, or maybe in your home!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A captivating first novel...beautifully depraved., June 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jones Inn (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Mr. Elliott weaves a twisted yet hauntingly beautiful story. Despite the depravity of his characters, the reader finds his/herself envisioning them as beautiful as the narrator himself does, and loving them almost against his/her will. The narrator, Paul, reminds me of a sort of modern-day Holden Caulfield in his inability to believe he has any control over his future (or even his present). This is how Holden might be if he were strung out on junk in the 1990s.

I hope Mr. Elliott publishes more. Despite minor editing glitches, and the unrealistic fast pace of this book, I enjoyed it greatly, and believe he will only improve in time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An old fellow Hoodlum from Rogers Park, January 18, 2001

By 

robert grbavac (Huntington Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jones Inn (Paperback)

Good work Steve! just wait til ya write about growing up with the old gang. I'm glad to see things are looking up for ya.