In Reality…

In reality, there is no Marlin’s Inn, no Old Men, and no Aiden…

This is my attempt to try some new way of storytelling (for me, anyway).  Think of it as a partial transcript from some TV show, a (almost) doodle-less comic, or a slowly unfolding novel.  That’s how I’m seeing it.

It started as a project between my cousin and I that grew into a life of its own in my mind, and hopefully I’m conveying it in the proper manner to you.

In case you didn’t notice, each of the characters have a tie to other characters in American literature:

For instance, Aiden Caulfield is a reference to Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.  Some of the people in his life have ties to other characters in that same book.

Henry Chinaski, Kilgore Trout, and H(orse)L(over) Fat are all alter-egos, in some shape or form, of authors Charles Bukowski, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Philip K. Dick.  I’m trying to capture a bit of each writer’s spirit in their words. 

T.J. Snodgrass (Steven) is another pseudonym for Samuel Clemens (shame if you don’t know his more famous one).

And Santiago, the put-upon bartender of Marlin’s Inn, is from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.

So hopefully, knowing all this can help you enjoy Aiden’s journey as he grows slowly into – or better than –  one of the Old Men at the Bar.