Monk walks across the deck toward the saxophone’s soft call and the deep throbs of bass. Pausing at the metal steps, he gazes at the patchwork of thin pipes for handrails and stairs that descend diagonally, welded against the iron wall. He grips the notebook tightly in his fist, its spirals digging into his palm, as his other hand finds the cool rail. Below, through an open hatchway, the music fades away, now only the muted scratching of the needle as the vinyl circles below, her final record spinning closer to the center, like an invisible thread that gently draws him down to her, down to Karmann.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Graffiti Palace would literally not exist, except as phantom bits of memory in my computer and my mind, if it weren’t for my agent and friend, Bonnie Nadell. This was a much shaggier and longer manuscript, but she worked hard with me to shape and create my vision. Mentor, advocate, and dispenser of tough love to corral word-drunk writers; thank you, Bonnie. I’m also tremendously grateful to Sean McDonald, publisher of MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Sean has been tireless and fearless in his love of and belief in my novel. There are many publishing houses that would shy away from controversial and different books like Graffiti Palace, but Sean is dedicated to fostering new voices in writing. Sean’s contributions to editing went way beyond prose; he helped me creatively with several key ideas and themes, watching over every step: from punctuation to fact-checking Los Angeles streets, from razor-sharp character and plot tweaks to book cover, and so much more; thanks, Sean. I’d also like to thank Alison Strauss, who was the first to see something in my writing and plucked my chapter from the submissions pile for Bonnie to read. James Draney and Daniel Mehrian were wonderful helpers, reading, noting, and discussing drafts of the book with Bonnie and me. At FSG, Rob Sternitzky and Jackson Howard worked very hard on editing the drafts. Maya Binyam was great guiding me through the editing process. To Brian Gittis in the publicity department, and Jonathan Lippincott for the book’s design: thank you. And to Rodrigo Corral for creating the book’s perfect cover.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A. G. Lombardo is a native Angeleno who teaches at a Los Angeles public high school. Graffiti Palace is his first novel. You can sign up for email updates here.
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraphs
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Acknowledgments
A Note About the Author
Copyright
MCD
175 Varick Street, New York 10014
Copyright © 2018 by A. G. Lombardo
All rights reserved
First edition, 2018
E-book ISBN: 978-0-374-71671-4
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