A gripping novel about coming of age in the most corybantic of places and times, Oneonta in the early 90s. No syrupy sentimentality here, this is a deep dark comedy about surviving the pitfalls of unrestrained bacchanalia, of staying sane while surrounded by madness, of discovering purpose in the confusion of aimless youth, and the ultimate triumph when purpose is finally realized and the first steps are taken on the road to controlled destiny... * * * FROM THE BACK COVER: Hank Gardner was an aspiring guitarist trapped in the boredom of his youth on Long Island in the late 1980s. While he had dreamed of escaping via the fame and fortune of rock & roll stardom, he realized that this was not going to actually happen and that he had better find an alternate escape route before he got stuck there for good. All seemed hopeless until he began hearing stories of a college in upstate New York that had been ranked the best party school in the country. Oneonta quickly became his beacon of salvation, and the acceptance letter to this school became what he thought would be his ticket to experience everything that life had to offer. When he got there, it was everything he imagined it would be-alcohol, drugs, sex, freedom-but he failed to consider what four years of unrestrained indulgence would do. A psychotic episode on some potent LSD during which he thinks he has died and is smoking marijuana with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley makes him realize what a mess his life had become. After recovering from this episode, Hank attempts to find direction via love: first with Maria Viola, a girl he went to high school with who had been in love with him since ninth grade; then with Virginia Duvall, the girl of his dreams who shows up out of nowhere at their dorm room but gets involved with one of his friends; and finally with Lucy Burns, a licentious alcoholic honors student whom he finds at the bottom of the barrel. Through the writings of his hero, Jack Kerouac, Hank is finally able to find the inspiration he needs to find a new road that will lead him out of town with an education he could have gotten in no other place. EXCERPTS: The houses in town are old timberboxes, some with fraternity letters crudely nailed to them, many with empty beer kegs littering their front porches. Down on Main Street are sooty old four and five story brick buildings with street level shops and apartments on the floors above. A block south of Main there is Water Street, which is more of a paved alley running between the three-story parking garage and the legendary strip of sixteen bars squeezed into vacant spaces on the backsides of the Main Street buildings. Bars such as the Alley, Paradise, the Sip & Sail Tavern, Sports On Tap, the Black Oak-their neon signs glowing in the windows like beacons signaling the real beginning of my life. * I didn't know how long I was out, but when I opened my eyes I was back in my room sitting on the edge of my bed. I felt feverish and my face was covered with sweat, so I got up and opened the window. The cold air felt good and I stared at the snow glittering in the dorm lights. My entire body started tingling and everything around me ground to a halt. The tingling became a tearing at the fiber of my physical being and a solid glass sculpture shaped like my body fell out of me. I made a fumbling attempt to catch it, but I missed. When it hit the floor it shattered into a million tiny pieces except for two bleeding red chunks on top of the pile. Like a guilty child I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but no one was there. The lights were out and several candles were burning in wax-streaked beer bottles. Bob Marley's fluorescent cartoon head inside one of the posters on the wall started laughing, and next to him a miniature Jimi Hendrix was sitting Indian-style loudly chewing a wad of gum and strumming a scorched Stratocaster. "Look at da mess you made, mon!" Marley laughed.

Author Biography

Julian Koosman was an expatriate adventurer who grew up on Long Island, New York and studied at the Oneonta State College in Upstate New York. He passed away off the coast of Bora Bora in 2013, leaving behind a treasure trove of unpublished fiction based on his adventures. The first posthumous publication of his work was Oneonta: The Novel in 2014, edited by Edward Chidlington III. * * * FEEDBACK FROM FACEBOOK PAGE: "It was a good read, took me back to a wonderful time in my life where I met so many great people that are still in my life and makes you wonder about those who are not. So many references of places I know so well. Certainly can relate to the main character [Hank from Long Island] in many ways [not so much in others] and definitely know someone who fits the description of each of the people that come in and out of Hank's life. Funny how at times the Oneonta in the book was the same to the charters as it was to me but very different in other ways - the change of the drinking age to 21 really had an effect on the students way of life post my graduation. Looking forward to the movie [someday maybe]." "Loving this book!!!!! Anybody that attended oneonta can prove [the haters] all wrong... this book speaks the truth" "I was expecting tales of debauchery, drugs, sex stories, etc... and this has all that, I mean, this is about "Stoneonta"... but this was an actual real novel with a real story. It was long, but it was worth the read. Hank, the main character, goes to Oneonta because he wants to have a good time, but he finds himself looking for meaning that he just can't find. He tries to find it with his friends and with the girls he gets involved with, but it's just not there. By the end of the novel he realizes that his future isn't in this place and that he just has to survive before it kills him. I'm sure anyone who went to a party school like Oneonta can relate to a lot of this stuff. Definitely a pleasant surprise." "Unbelievable! Brought me right back to my college days. It pulls you right back to that first night, going down to a keg party in a dirty basement but it's the greatest place in the world. There is a lot about the drugs too, particulary bad trips on LSD and a lot of pot smoking, but that stuff is definitely part of the experience. Won't give away the ending, but it was quite a grand finale. If you went to Oneonta, you have to read this, but I think anyone can enjoy it."