The Scoundrel - Softcover

Stephan Jaramillo is a chef and a writer living in Berkeley, California. He is the author of the novels, Going Postal and Chocolate Jesus.

A rambling fantasy of misdirected youth, by a novelist whose previous work (Going Postal, 1997) only hinted at the wild man persona hes now wrapped himself in fully. Like many young men, Carl Carrasco enjoys frequent sex with as many different women as he can lay his hands on. Unlike most, however, hes confident that his experiences will be as amusing to others as they are to him. Although a libertine, Carl is not a slacker: He found respectable employment as a delivery boy for an Italian restaurant in San Francisco and has worked his way up to chef, pursuing women only in free time. Theres the Russian intellectual named Anastasia, who finds him appealing in his hopelessly lowbrow style but cant put up with his ignorance of philosophy and the world. Maria Cordova is a Bay Area surfer chick (on the Internet, that is) who carries on a chat-room affair with him. Some years ago, there was a night-shift nurse who also makes a regular appearance in his fantasy life, and theres a bisexual barmaid at the restaurant who, he hopes, will hook him on to a hot threesome. For the most part, however, Carls thoughts revolve around the North County Girl (his current squeeze) and his ex-girlfriend (whom he never really got over). His friend Mike, now in Prague, sends him regular e-mails regaling him with his awesome exploits among the Czech babes, who are gorgeous and love sex and have never heard of feminism or AIDS or other such turnoffs. But just as things seem to be getting serious with the North County Girl, Carls restaurant goes out of business. Will he, being free and unemployed, go join Mike in his frat-house Nirvana? Or will he just grow up? Well have to wait for Jaramillos next installment to know for sure, but the indications are pretty clear. A good read for the flight down to Fort Lauderdale, though it probably wont have a long shelf life after Spring Break. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.