North Coast Gothic: A Grim Fairy Tale
by D. Allen Crowley
Category: Fiction

A darkly humorous coming of age story, North Coast Gothic follows the story of Tom O'Neil, a conflicted and aging young man. Fast approaching his 30's, he is an outsider observing the vibrant, frenetic, and dark lives of his small circle of friends. Deeply immersed in the drug abuse, club life, and black garbed Gothic culture; Tom's friends cling doggedly to the hedonistic pleasures of youth. Through Tom's eyes, we see their descent into darkness. We meet Tom's best friend Dre, and Kevin, a near psychotic skinhead. Both play with the idea of guns, armed robbery, and the commission of the perfect crime. We also meet Lydia, a waif-like vampire wannabe who loses herself in the numbness of drugs and the sharply exquisite pain of sadomasochism. Amidst this turmoil, Tom must choose between the two women he loves and his own desires to grow up and leave behind the frivolity of youth. Set against the backdrop of Cleveland, or Ohio's 'North Coast', the story winds through the clubs, coffee shops, and ethnically diverse neighborhoods that epitomize both the desperation of the American Midwest and the decaying morality of what was once known as the buckle of the Rust Belt.