Taking Off
By (Author) Matt Howard
Allen & Unwin
Arena
1st October 2008
Australia
General
Fiction
A823
Paperback
348
Width 130mm, Height 195mm
384g
Ash Lynch has worked (if you can call it that) in the magazine industry for what feels like forever. But he's at a very loose end - his ambition to climb the greasy pole of career success long since expired, his personal life at a bit of a standstill. Ash finds some sort of solace hanging out with Miller, an ex-roadie taking a break from his trip around Australia to work at the local (birthday drinks) bar. Ash and Miller become great mates, talking heaps, occasionally getting trashed and generally having a good time together. A weird turn of events finds Miller and Ash taking off overseas, first stop Amsterdam (a destination not entirely surprising). Their often hilarious journey across Europe has more than a dash of sex, drugs and rock and roll, taking them to new places in every sense of the word...A cross between Nick Earl's Zigzag Street and Andrew McGahan's Praise, this is the hilarious, but poignant, account of two blokes' adventures and friendship as they journey into the unknown.
Originally from Sydney, Matt Howard works in Melbourne as a buyer for Angus and Robertson. After spending the early nineties travelling in Europe to avoid real work, Matt had a series of jobs in book and magazine publishing. Matt's debut novel, Street Furniture, was published by Wakefield Press to some great reviews. Matt's interests are writing, travelling, playing pool, drink and kebabs.