Blown

Mark Haskell Smith is the author of five novels, including Raw: A Love Story and Salty (which was adapted into a major motion picture called Gun Shy), as well as the nonfiction books Naked at Lunch and Heart of Dankness. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Vulture. He lives in Los Angeles.

PRAISE FOR BLOWN“Another compulsively readable blend of satire, crime fiction motifs, and the occasional quirky, violent interlude in a tale that will satisfy [Smith’s] current fans and attract new ones.” –Booklist"Darkly amusing...[Smith] has a fine-tuned ear for witty repartee and a skill for embroiling even his most comically conceived characters in dramas that steer his plot through unpredictable twists and into unforeseeable outcomes. This is a surprising, memorable novel." —Publisher's Weekly"Smith works out the mechanics of his heist beautifully...Another madcap crime caper, one with a little temper and a dirty mind." —Kirkus Reviews"I'm a big fan of Mark Haskell Smith's novels and Blown is his best yet: funny and frisky, with unforgettable characters and a surprising, twisty plot that willkeep you up way past your bedtime. Beyond all the fun and the ribald jokes is a wise portrayal of capitalism's dehumanizing effects. A terrific novel." —Edan Lepucki, author of Woman No. 17"If you haven't been reading Mark Haskell Smith, get your sh*t together. Start with Blown, which is a blast. It's a gripping, hilarious, wild ride of a book. I loved it." —Lisa Lutz, author of The Passenger"Sexy, funny, and surprising, Blown moves fast and is a lot of fun. Mark Haskell Smith is a writer whose books I am always grateful to have read." —Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer"Blown is a riotously funny, perfectly observed, and maddeningly engaging roller coaster that tears through a world dominated by greed, cunning, sex, and the extraordinary and ludicrous measures people will go to in order to be happy. Mark Haskell Smith takes you on a wild ride you won't dare get off until the very end." —Ivy Pochoda, author of Wonder Valley"Engrossing...a page turner in the best sense of the term." —The Arts FusePRAISE FOR RAW: A LOVE STORY“Gleefully absurd . . . [Smith] turns what could have been just an amusing book into an incisive, caustic and hilarious one . . . He’s able to pull it off because his prose is so hard-boiled and self-assured.” —Los Angeles Times“Audacious satire.” —Vanity Fair“Both hilarious and absurd. You'll laugh (and sometimes blush) the whole way through.” —People“Outrageous . . . consistently surprising, fast-paced and nearly always funny.” —Daily Beast“Amusing and intermittently outright funny . . . [Smith’s] caricatures land squarely on the mark.” —Boston Globe“Dark, priapic satire.” —The Millions“[A] brash and brainy slice of satire that skewers our base and high-minded interests in one fell swoop . . . Hilarious.” —Shelf AwarenessPRAISE FOR MARK HASKELL SMITH“Smith has a knack for winningly blending James Ellroy blunt violence with Elmore Leonard deadpan wit . . . [and] the gimlet-eyed barbed satire of Terry Southern.” —Baltimore City Paper“The man can tell a story, oh, yes, indeed.” —T. C. Boyle“Smith is mordantly funny.” —Los Angeles Review of Books“Like Carl Hiaasen’s oversexed cousin . . . [Smith] excels at cooking up a supremely weird atmosphere and spicing it up with equally weird sex and violence.” —Booklist