Ironweed

William Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Ironweed, shows a seedy underbelly of depression and prohibition era alcoholism. Set in Kennedy's hometown of Albany, New York, Ironweed follows Francis Phelan as he cobbles together odd jobs, and "flops" enough to keep him in booze and warmth for the night. Meanwhile, drinking buddies "occupy" vacant lots, and rusted hulls of cars.

Phelan is haunted by apparitions of the dead, and not uncoincidentally, the story begins with children ghouling and goblining around on Halloween, as he returns to Albany after years of absence. Dawn finds Phelan working a job cleaning a grave yard on All Saints Day. The text is a rich tapestry of shoe soles flapping, steel drums splayed with splintered pallets aflame, and a wincing look at homelessness during the Great Depression. Frost slowly grips the scene, as the carefree of autumn dirges mercilessly into winter.

A 1987 film adaptation starred Jack Nicholson as Phelan, Meryl Streep as ladyfriend Helen Archer, Tom Waits as chum Rudy, and even the looming Fred Gwynne as a mystically and recently sober bar tender.