When Austin Was Weird

Tinned Fish Book Club discussion time

The characters in Lucas Schaefer’s The Slip hooked me in. The jacket copy talks up Nathaniel Rothstein and his uncle Bob, but you’re introduced to a whole cast of characters that hang around Terry Tucker’s Boxing Gym, like the “squatter-in-residence,” Ed Hooley, David Dalice, the dirty-talking, cock of the walk Haitian immigrant, and, as a few folks in the book club chat have mentioned, a coyote. But the one character that remains a constant throughout the book is the setting. The Slip takes place in Austin, TX., and there’s always been something fascinating about stuff that comes from the Texas capital that has always intrigued me. Oddly enough, The Slip is the first novel I’ve read that really utilizes Austin’s old brand of weirdness that is quickly being erased by ugly, expensive, and Elon. Schaefer is a wonderful storyteller who created some incredible characters, but place is so important to The Slip in the same way that Los Angeles inspired Raymond Chandler’s work or Saul Bellow’s books could only be set against Chicago’s grey skies. Place is such a big part of the reason I loved and picked The Slip, and it got me thinking of a few other cultural touchstones that have helped me enjoy the experience of reading it.