Mike Heppner’s "Pike’s Folly" Roils With Southern, Heller
By DJ M on June 19th, 2006
In Brian Wilson/B. Boys
I don't know how many of you might have missed our PREVIOUS POST on MIKE HEPPENER'S new novel Pike’s Folly, a wonderful romp which moves with a fast crowd, hipsters like writer's writer TERRY SOUTHERN, and JOSEPH HELLER, of Catch 22 fame.
HEPPENER brings these authors' salacious style into the modern era by incorporating a real pop musician, specifically Brian Wilson, into his narrative. Wilson is both a trope, e.g. one character made a film about Wilson in the '80s and another is obsessed with SMiLE bootlegs, and an actual character. Further into the novel, the final 1/3, which I have not had a chance to finish yet, Brian Wilson himself emerges as a speaking, and letter writing, character.
While the Wilson trope/character is important to the novel, if you put all the references together, it would only stretch over a few pages. Nevertheless, Pike's Folly is turning out to be a great book.
We'll let you know more as we progress through the book. Until then, check out this link: BOHEMIAN AESTHETIC