One Foot Off The Gutter

(Paperback)

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Description

The time is the late 1980s. A police officer has been gunned down. Our narrator, Coddy, a policeman, is underpaid, sleep-deprived and overweight. Coddy's partner, Bellamy, lives out of their shared squad car, littering the back seat with his dirty underwear and empty cigarette packs. Free Box and Barbie are squatters who rob Rainbow Health Foods at gunpoint for something to eat. From the junkies openly shooting up on stoops to the homeless men with their fleets of shopping carts piled high with garbage, Plate's Mission District is 'a catechism in destruction'.

Reviews

Through vivid detailing of both his characters and the city of San Francisco, Plate brings conflict to life with skillful precision and undeniable poignancy. Rain Taxi


I found a certain sweetness to the telling of Peter Plate's walk on the San Francisco wild side. Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered

Author Bio

Peter Plate taught himself to write fiction during eight years spent living in abandoned buildings. He is the author of six previous novels, including Black Wheel of Anger, Darkness Throws Down and the critically acclaimed, Police and Thieves. He lives in San Francisco.