"Lyrical only gets at a piece of this luscious novel... [Ritter's] latest offering literally sings... Ocean Beach and its inhabitants deliver the humor. Mix in some rhythms and beats from street culture, the music biz, plus a dash of magical realism and you have the perfect score for this novel whose voice cries out."
—Dr. Teri Lesesne, Sam Houston State University
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"Some people play music by ear, but, me, I'd rather use my eyes. What I mean is, I'd skate along easy, cool, watching the street scene roll by. But I'd be scoping, scanning for rhythms, for a crow's hop, a dog's walk, slipping in eight, nine notes in a four-beat measure. I'd get in sync or syncopate, whatever it takes.
"I'd be like a tagger, a spray-paint artist, like some muralist. I'd spray music out my horn, and it would cover people, cars, birds, buses, bikers, dogs, and trashcan cats—anything that caught my eye—as I skated on by, cool and easy."
(excerpt from Under the Baseball Moon) |
