South of the Pumphouse

This book felt like a labor of love from start to finish, it really emulates Les Claypool's style and as a long time Primus fan, it was interesting to see a new facet to his creativity. Primus fanning aside, this book stands up well on it's own merit and i consider it a must read novel.

Les Claypool can do anything with a bass guitar. For those who don't know, Les fronted his amazing band, Primus, all through the 90s and beyond. And I'll admit I'm a big fan of his music, but I also read loads of horror and bizarre fiction, and I can tell you Les Claypool can really write. The worst thing you could do, would be to write this book off as one that got published only because a world famous bass player penned it. This isn't as bizarre as the lyrics Les writes for his side projects and Primus. It's not a bunch of abstract sentences strung together that don't make sense, either. Les doesn't hold back with his characters; drugs, sex, and violence are a part of this book, but people need to understand that when a writer starts a story, the characters take on a life of their own. So, it would be very wrong to say Les just sat down and wrote a bunch of garbage that he planned beforehand. This book would appeal not only to fans of the music Les creates, but to anyone into strange fiction that makes for a really good read. There's no shortage of humor in this tale either; anyone who knows Primus, knows Les has a weird sense of humor. I opened this book expecting to read about 30 pages and then move on to some other books I was reading at the same time, and the next thing I knew it was hours later and I was more than half way through the book. Les definitely mastered his flow of words and found his own distinctive writing voice. I really hope this isn't the last strange tale that he decides to publish. I'd like to see him become as known for his writing as he is for reinventing the bass guitar. If you like the kind of fiction that stirs your mind deep into the night and roams around your mind long after, then make sure you read South of The Pumphouse before it goes out of print and you have to spend a lot of $$$ trying to obtain a used copy. Big time kudos to Les for creating this one.

Les Claypool is genius. You'll enjoy the book, even if, for some strange reason, you don't love his music.

This book, while not a timeless classic, will always be remembered by Claypool fans and is surprisingly good. His first attempt is very Claypool-esque and deserves to be read. It's vulgar, odd and not in the least bit disturbing, but any fan of the great musician will understand and appreciate it. If anyone is looking for something different to read, this is definitely different. Get it!

Im a HUGE Claypool fan. I love ALL of his music. Not biasing my review of his book because of love of his music, I can say that this book is well written, being very descriptive, funny, sad, and angry. For the Les fans out there this book has a lot of nostalgia from his music, including El Sobrante, Blue Collar Tweekers, red necks, and Fishing. Overall the book will have you grossed out, laughing out loud, upset, and wondering how drugs are in comparison to the descriptions in his book.

To anyone familiar with Les Claypool, the name El Sobrante should be instantly recognizable. It is of course the name of the town where Les was born and raised and also serves as the primary backdrop of the story. Those of you out there who have been Primus fans for years will no doubt recognize themes, people and places that in addition to appearing in the novel have also made an appearance in some classic Primus songs/albums. "South of The Pumphouse" is at times funny, dark and crude but never once is it boring. The storyline is pretty straight forward never deviating too far from the main plot which involves Ed, his brother Earl, Earl's friend Donny and a fishing trip. Simple and effective, "South of The Pumphouse" succeeds at not only entertaining the reader but being an indication of things to come from ol' Les.