According to Johnny Depp, “If Hubert Selby Jr., Charles Bukowski, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Neil Cassady, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, the Marquis de Sade, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Edward Teach, Charley Parker, Iggy Pop, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, R. Crumb, Robert Williams, Joe Coleman, Dashiell Hammett, E.M. Cioran and all of the Three Stooges had all been involved in some greasy, shameful, evil whorehouse orgy, Jonathan Shaw would surely be its diabolical, reprobate spawn.” This first novel by Shaw, the internationally acclaimed tattoo artist and son of jazz legend Artie Shaw, unfolds in the wild backwaters of Rio de Janeiro and New York, where narrator Cigano attempts in vain to curb the unhinged habits of his lover Narcisa. As they navigate the chaos of her spiraling life of drugs, burglaries and violent mood swings, Cigano records a love affair doomed by sociopathy. With a fan base that includes Lydia Lunch (who provides an introduction), Depp, Jim Jarmusch and Iggy Pop, it is already a much-anticipated debut.
I think it is impossible to review this book without first sharing an small anecdote about its enigmatic writer… I had the fortune of running into a certain Jon Shaw in a coffee shop whilst on a writing assignment on a blistering day on Sunset Strip. Myself and my partner in crime Shande struck up an instant kinship with a similarly troubled soul, and that brief coffee date spiraled us all down the rabbit hole of the friendship we now share. Jonathan struck then as he does with ‘Narcisa – Our Lady of Ashes’; as an almighty force of nature to be reckoned with, with a beating heart of gold beneath the barricades.
I’m a tough critic; comes with my trade, and I don’t believe that blowing smoke up people’s asses is ever appreciated, or particularly helpful. But I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jonathan Shaw as a vital, passionate, intense hellion, and I am proud to say that he has channeled all of these traits into this remarkable novel. A lifetime of being fucked with, fucked up, and fucked over splays in technicolor across the pages. It’s so visceral that you can virtually see the gristle and sinew of his heart on the damn page in parts – a rare and devastating honesty which most of today’s writers would lurch in terror from.
Narcisa is not for everybody; just as many writers couldn’t fathom the depths of this guy, many readers may find the content mind-melting — every page smacks you unapologetically in the face! But the dark places always speak to me, and hopefully to the millions of disaffected, fucked up individuals out there who will hopefully unite behind Cigano and Narcisa in this insane adventure.
Finally, I will say that there is a thin veil of fiction over Jon’s life and reality in this story, which I find to be somehow the most fascinating — and heartbreaking — element of this whole paean. It elevates what might be a searing anthem to the lost and lonely into the mind blowing territory of Jon’s soul.
A fucked up, beautifully diseased, tormented place where demons lurk and crack-whores sing siren calls…
Buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Narcisa-Lady-Ashes-Jonathan-Shaw/dp/0979723833
Hollywood Gutterpunk 