
Black Francis and Josh Frank
The Good Inn: A Novel
Published by IT
Jun 09, 2014 Web Exclusive
The Good Inn, the collaborative work of Pixies frontman Black Francis and writer Josh Frank, is the part-fact, part-fiction tale of Soldier Boy, the only survivor of an explosion of the French battleship Iéna, and how he discovers an inn, has an affair with the innkeeper’s daughter, and at the same time finds himself the star of the first narrative pornographic film, 1908’s La Bonne Auberge. The novel is essentially a screenplay for a nonexistent film about these fictional/nonfictional characters that was developed from a song cycle Francis had composed as a sort-of soundtrack to said nonexistent film, with illustrations by Trompe le Monde cover artist Steven Appleby. Got that? Me neither. What The Good Inn is, practically speaking, is a surrealistic delight. The story follows Soldier Boy, after the explosion of his ship, to the inn where he meets his mistress. Noticing a hole in the wall during their encounters, Soldier Boy explores what’s on the other side of the wall, which catapults him into a story that brilliantly blurs the line between the world of the real and the world of the surreal. Real life characters from the real life making of La Bonne Auberge come in and out of the story until the ultimate climax that will have you questioning reality. While The Good Inn is, in part, the tale of the first narrative stag film, the book is not pornographic. This is simply the pretense to the bizarre tale. As interesting as the text, and a perfect complement to the story being told, are the vivid, colorful, fantastic illustrations by Appleby, which fall somewhere between Quentin Blake and Ralph Steadman. The only criticism here is that the book is a bit too much of a page-turner. It moves quickly and, once done, leaves the reader at a loss, wanting more, like a strange dream ended too soon. (www.thegoodinnbook.com) (www.harpercollins.com)
Author rating: 7.5/10
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