love the book and i have read it many time and but the movie do leave out much of the plot . the book be more sexually charge and less depress with great depth . have some great dark comedic moment though probably greatly exaggerate from mcgahan own experience . i live in brisbane during the early 90 with my girlfriend at a boarding house in inner city windsor . a few old alcoholic live in the room above . we be poor uni student so the book take me back to that time . i can relate to those wasted day of drug and alcohol and sex and strange night out in the valley . i would say a lot of andrew mcgahan novel would be autobiographical a he go to the university of queensland though drop out before finish his art degree . he probably work at one of the local bottle shop like the re and regatta or the cri and have a sex crazy girlfriend and drink a lot of alcohol and experiment with drug a you do . this be a come of age story that i believe many could relate to from their youth . you must read the novel and it great .