What We Do Is Secret is a life in the day of a gutter punk on the streets of L.A. in 1981 and is filled with real bands, events that actually happened and the names of many real-life people. Thorn Kief Hillsbery's a great writer and the lyrical, prose and whacky vernacular that he uses is a lot of fun to read, but I have a few issues with the book. Mainly that he named his fictional protagonist Rockets Redglare. Rockets Redglare was the name of a notorious actor who used to hang out in the early New York punk scene. He was a drug dealer who may have had something to do with the murder of Nancy Spungen and he is in no way similar to the thirteen year old, kind, sensitive gay narrator in the novel.
So, I was wondering, does anyone else have mixed feelings about this novel? Particularly if you are familiar with the history of the early hardcore/punk rock scene in L.A.?
