The Bagger

It's the 1980s. Hard times have hit cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. The youth of America, running on the fumes of a waning prosperity, seek refuge in dance clubs where New Wave music carries them away.

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Akron, Ohio, once a boomtown, staggers forward to face the stark reality of fleeing jobs and empty factories. Freddie Beck, a budding young photographer, dreams of a way out. Alternating between shooting gigs by day and dancing to Blondie, Billy Idol, and the B-52's at night, he is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, but taking it might cost more than he's willing to pay.

A saga of blood brothers-one black and one white-Zink presents us with a multi-layered human interest story singular to what we now call The Rust Belt, yet universal in its portrayal of youthful hubris and fragility. 

William Zink's novels have been praised by Andrei Codrescu, Booklist, The Main Street Rag, David Giffels, Donald Ray Pollock, Dagoberto Gilb, and many others. He is recently the author of North Hill, a dramatic comedy set in Akron, Ohio.