When I Was Punk

This comical, scrappy second book from Malone in his Tomkins Square Trilogy (after No Never No More) takes place in 2001, two years after the first book. A recovering coke addict from Manhattan's East Village, Conrad, 39, finishes his court-ordered one-year drug rehab treatment and discovers his girlfriend of 10 years Anna-Jane ("AJ") has fallen in love with rockabilly musician Ethan. She decides to breakup with Conrad. He takes solace in working as a bartender, writing in his life journal, and reading Jack Kerouac and F. Scott Fitzgerald novels. Meantime, the cavalier Fluke Crowley, 18, has chosen to hang out and experience the punk scene for a year before entering Princeton to study art or business. After becoming a petty criminal to support his carefree lifestyle, Fluke steals Conrad's knapsack containing his life journal, which Fluke reads with interest. While Fluke's family is looking for him (they've hired a private investagtor to bring him home), he run a scam concerning a new fictitious street aphrodisiac called "Jackrabbit." Eventually, Fluke and Conrad cross paths and reconcile their differences just when things are turning too hot for Fluke to stick around town. He plans a hasty exit for warmer climates and sets the stage for the last book to complete Malone's literary project. (Sept.)