Synopses & Reviews
Inspired by the exploits of ill-fated country-rock visionary Gram Parsons, this mid-60s tale of idealism and escape traces the trials of a fictionalized draft-dodging flower child from the United States to Canada and back. It is the late 1960s in Yorkville, Toronto's hippie ghetto of artists, intellectuals, drunken poets, and would-be rock stars. In this idyllic haven, narrator Bill Hansen, a drummer, meets Thomas Graham, an American musician on the lam from the draft. The two form a band, but even as they revel in music and freedom, Graham is hobbled by another love: a drug habit that becomes his reason for living and, eventually, for dying. Graham's emotional trip and failed, revolutionary life reflect the rise and fall of an entire generation's aspirations.
Review
"An engrossing novel, beautifully written." Jim Harrison, author, Legends of the Fall
Review
"Robertson shares a literary wildness with Thomas Wolfe." Cleveland Free Times
Review
"A funny, generous, touching novel by a writer of genuine gifts." Richard Currey, author, Fatal Light and Lost Highway
Review
"The real star of Moody Food is the writing, with its displays of sharp humor and deep love of music." Litkicks.com
Synopsis
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About the Author
Ray Robertson is the author of Gently Down the Stream, Home Movies, and Mental Hygiene: Essays on Writers and Writing. He teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Toronto and is a contributing book reviewer to the Toronto Globe and Mail. He lives in Toronto.