A Confederate General from Big Sur

This is the story of Lee Mellon, whose great-grandfather was (or perhaps was not) a Confederate General in the Civil War. The story of a few weeks in San Francisco and Big Sur, it describes the relationship between Mellon and the narrator. When Lee holes up at Big Sur, he writes his friend an urgent invitation: "I've got a garden that grows all year round! A 30:30 Winchester for deer, a .22 for rabbits and quail. I've got some fishing tackle and The Journal of Albion Moonlight We can make it OK....Come to the party and hurry down to Big Sur and don't forget to bring some whiskey!"" Elizabeth and Elaine and a porkchop-eating alligator join the party, and then, to hilarious effect, Roy Earle with his $100,000. Brautigan's humor is gentle and offhand, developed in odd, inventive metaphors. He is establishing himself as one of the most distinctive and distinguished comic writers now at work in America.