Crosstown is a book of surprising humour considering the subject matter: a homeless alcoholic ex-doctor on a warped pilgrimage through Toronto. Scrimger’s doctor tells us his story in a series of well timed flashbacks that nicely contrast the vaguely coherent beatings, sexual assaults and searches for booze that otherwise push this prose forward. Crosstown is a fast book of crisis and it leaves no room for the sentiment of history. A good read from a new writer with a lot of potential.
Richard Scrimger / Riverbank Press / $18.99