There's a broader selection of reviews of this novel over at Amazon - so you might want to take a look at those before deciding whether this book is for you. Where I came out was somewhere around the 4 star mark – there were parts of the novel about which I shared the enthusiasm of the many 5 star reviewers but others where I had some sympathy with some of the more critical reviews on Amazon (which, I hasten to add, are in the minority).

It reminded me most of some of Douglas Coupland’s work. For instance, it explores some similar territory - office cubicle hell, the vacuousness of modern life etc (it is, after all, set in and around Las Vegas) - and contains a fair amount of Coupland-like quirky observation (maybe a bit much at times).

But it is not without emotional depth – there is a nice twist, part way through, when we finally discover exactly why our hero, Henry Pluck, seems to like hanging out with older people quite so much (which is initially quite puzzling). As one of the Amazon reviewers has pointed out, it can occasionally feel a bit meandering – but since Henry has rather lost his sense of direction, it’s in the nature of the subject matter that the reader should end up feeling as if he/she is being led around in circles a bit (rather than being propelled in a straight line at Warp Factor 7 directly towards an explosive, coronary-inducing finale).

So, overall, my verdict on "Epitaph for a Coyote" is well worth a read - but my favourite from this author so far is a short story called "Illinois Corn" from a collection called "Unpredictable", which you can get free from feedbooks - click here for a review:
http://www.paulsamael.com/blog/unpredictable ( )

Henry Pluck lives his life everyday, doing the same thing day in and day out. Henry thinks he is happy. In comes Rosa Santana and she turns his life upside down and inside out. What were shades of tan and beige becomes a rainbow of color and causes Henry to start looking at his life and say, "Am I really happy?" Well done story and hard to put down . It was a really lovely way to spend an afternoon in the sun. Great Job!! ( )

One of the best books I read this year from the new generation. It was sensitive, wonderful and poetic without being mushy or silly. Henry is a likable fellow who meets Rosa who is wild and crazy. The woman shows him life in a different way allowing him to see beauty. He did not change cities, he just changed his perspective. My favorite character in the book is "The girl on the other side of the wall". I liked her a lot.Dennis expressed all our feelings, hopes and desires with class and humor. A delightful book. ( )

One of the best books I read this year from the new generation. It was sensitive, wonderful and poetic without being mushy or silly. Henry is a likable fellow who meets Rosa who is wild and crazy. The woman shows him life in a different way allowing him to see beauty. He did not change cities, he just changed his perspective. My favorite character in the book is "The girl on the other side of the wall". I liked her a lot.Dennis expressed all our feelings, hopes and desires with class and humor. A delightful book. ( )

I was surprised by this book. The first few chapters were hard for me to follow or really get into. But I kept going, and it ended up being a good story. Reading about Henry and his relationships with the people around him was entertaining and held my attention. Some of the conversations between him and Rosa seemed a little off the wall, but others it was good to see how he was changed by the people around him. ( )