Whirlaway

“Hoping that the secret of Poe Ballantine stays secret no longer.” —Scott F. Parker, The Minnesota Star Tribune

“If you see [Poe Ballantine’s] name in a byline, read it.” —Jack Waters, UVU Review

“Ballantine walks a wry tightrope here, imbuing his debauched characters with the drunken nobility of Steinbeck’s ‘boys,’ not to mention a healthy dose of gonzo angst. What results is a wanton misadventure that often flips from laughter to tears on a dime. Bukowski and his ilk might appreciate this oddball version of the hero’s journey, soaked in beer and melancholia.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“For readers who prefer madcap to claptrap, quixotic pranks to neurotic angst, Poe Ballantine is a literary tonic: Bittersweet, potent, and peculiarly entertaining. Poe Ballantine is the most soulful, insightful, funny, and altogether luminous ‘under-known’ writer in America. He knocks my socks off, even when I’m barefoot.” —Tom Robbins, author of Tibetan Peach Pie

“Whirlaway is a fever dream of my favorite things: horse racing, records, booze, insanity, and women. What a strange and crazed comedic ride. Ballantine’s writing is like no other.” —Willy Vlautin, author of The Free

“Like David Sedaris, he is an American outsider with insane comedic and storytelling gifts.” —Marion Wink, author of Above Us Only Sky

“Ballantine’s writing is secure insecurity at its best, muscular and minimal, self-deprecating on the one hand, full of the self’s soul on the other.” —Lauren Slater, author of Lying