Riffs [signed] [first edition]

FROM THE PUBLISHER: RIFFS -- or drifters -- is the world that Canadian writer Douglas MacLaurin brings to life in the alternately poignant, rude and wildly funny story of people trying to cope on skid row. Drawing from his own personal experience, MacLaurin has captured the sense of what it is like to live always with poverty and hopelessness, struggling to survive on the edge of a society whose institutions are seen as either a threat or a joke. Readers will enjoy the crisp, refreshing style with which the author portrays his characters, their environment, and their essential humanity.MacLaurinlived for 2 years on Vancouver's skid row, and several months as a resident in the notorious Queen Street mental hospital in Toronto.