Lemons on a Plate (an alter-ego speaks) by Pat Black

The poverty-stricken vagabond Barron Desulfer, addicted to drugs and alcohol and once a professor and renowned writer, decides to turn his life around. By chance, he meets up with an ex military Colonel, Ken, who is looking for someone to write his autobiography; this opportunity becomes the only hope that the desperate Barron needs to bring him up from the poorness in which he lives. Barron, suffering from progressive memory loss, has kept a daily journal for over thirty years.
He begins interviewing the Colonel. As the month's pass and the project moves forward, Barron stumbles onto a diary that belongs to the Colonel. What he finds in it will forever change the path in which he is on; hope will be stripped away. Or will it?

A former ghostwriter for some of the world's acclaimed novelists, author Pat Black has intentionally shied away from modern writing and traditional grammar standards, as he reaches the reader by way of an altered-state voice to create a truly unique first-of-four series.




Barron Desulfer lives in poverty in a dusty shack that contains little other than his couch and writing area. He writes constantly as he is losing his memory and in this way can keep a record. He occasionally sweeps up at the grocery store for a few odd dollars and one day leaves an ad on their cork board offering himself up as a writer. He is hired by a former military man who presents himself as a veteran of several wars, to write his biography. After some time it becomes apparent that this alleged war hero has lied about his adventures.
I'm not sure what I expected from this book but I am sure that what I got isn't what I was looking for. I was intrigued by the description of a drug addicted writer trying to turn his life around while living in poverty. What I got feels more like the ramblings of a fever dream (or drug induced dream?) For such a short book (less than 200 pages) it was quite repetitive with multiple repeats of the same material. Perhaps because Barron is losing his memory he forgot that he relayed this information already. There were some issues with sentence structure as well, so I am in agreement with the description that states "Pat Black has intentionally shied away from modern writing and traditional grammar standards," and I agree that this book is "unique."
I won't be reading the rest of the series. Someone else may enjoy this style, but it's just not for me.

I received a complimentary copy for review.