Based on the events that transpire in CYGAWA, things could be a lot better. In fact, things couldn’t get much worse.
Weisbecker is brutally honest and chronically unapologetic from the start, but as the story unfolds, his voice changes; slowly degrading at times into an almost unreliable narrator, riddled with paranoia and hysteria (for real reasons you won’t expect). The old Woody Allen adage comes to mind: “Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not after you.” At this point, this narrative exudes the intrigue of a psychological thriller while still based in a memoir's reality.
On one level, CYGAWA is a fast-paced memoir in which the author savagely jabs at the world around him while his own inward decline pours forth over the page; however, on another level, Weisbecker also chronicles the actual writing process itself, periodically stepping out of the narration like Vonnegut to pull the curtain on his life as a writer, giving a somewhat morose albeit very honest glimpse into the creative process.
Surfing is still a vital part of the story, although this time it’s more cursory. Weisbecker’s languid description of the surfing experience highlights what happens when problems on land intrude with one’s surfing state of mind. To state more simply, if it’s messing with your surfing, then it must be serious. And circumstances get really serious in Weisbecker’s life, eventually spiraling into some serious chaos and some serious darkness and even serious threats to his life.
Bottom Line: Can’t you Get Along with Anyone? is a fast-paced, edgy memoir, and its power lies in its very genre. Although a memoir, the events read like gripping fiction of the highest order. As a reader, you will ask yourself, “How can all this possibly be true? Weisbecker responds to this possibility with a plethora of evidence and support for all aspects of his memoir in his E-zine at Bandito Books.
If you want to venture further "out there" and into Weisbecker's mind, check out his free E-zine.
