USED: Cactus

By Nathaniel Kennon Perkins Published by Trident Press, 2018 114 pages, paperback From the publisher: In Cactus, correctional officer and ex-punk rocker Will Stephens works guarding prisoners who pick up trash on the side of the highway. One of them, a hardened inmate with a tattoo right beneath his eye, seems oddly familiar, but Will can't quite place him. When he realizes that the inmate is none other than the former lead singer of his favorite punk band, he must navigate an emotional desert landscape populated by neo-Nazis, asshole cops, guilt, student loans, and a double dose of mescaline tea. Praise for Cactus... "Shades of Updike's 'A&P' but much less boring." -Bart Schaneman, author of Someplace Else "Goddamn good." -Adam Gnade, author of Locust House "Perkins does what classic literature does. He invites you to witness an accident, and like the desert, it is beautiful." -Noah Cicero, author of Nature Documentary