Tenderloin — John Butler

An electrifying debut coming of age story set in San Francisco during the dotcom boom

I had seen the Internet recently, in a café on Haight and Steiner that had a grey coin-operated computer terminal in the corner. One guy was using it to read what another guy was saying about some computer thing. And another Irish friend of a friend had it in their apartment when Milo and I called over one night, and he tried to show it to us, but it seemed he was using it to talk to a guy just like him about some computer game and I couldn't understand why he didn't just pick up the phone. But at least I knew about it.

It's 1995 and Evan has embarked on an adventure that will change his life -- leaving his Dublin home for the rolling hills and fog-swept bays of San Francisco. Between the Internet revolution and the rave culture, young naive Evan is completely clueless about how to succeed; but he's determined to stumble on, looking for work, looking for love, and, ultimately, looking to define himself. Soon, however, the troubles of his past catch up with him, and everything begins to unravel.