Blind View Drive

With Blind View Drive, maverick author Jerry Gufferd has produced a daring, exciting, and potentially offensive work of transgressive fiction. As he describes it, this book is “a laugh-out-loud page turner with an extremely unreliable narrator who challenges you to read between the lines.”

Gufferd’s debut novel is a no-holds-barred dark comedy that is loosely based on events and experiences plucked from his own life. It tells a wildly entertaining story that will leave readers laughing while at the same time shaking their heads at the absurdities of life and at the moral and ethical fallacies of the world we live in. As they thumb their way through this gritty novel, readers will find themselves asking questions, not the least of which will be how much the outlandish antihero’s behavior and beliefs actually mirror their own.

Blind View Drive centers on a young man named Chance who, like Gufferd, opposes authority, boundaries, and rules in any and every form and seeks to live life unencumbered by the political and religious institutions that not only govern society but also dictate the ways people think, act, and feel. What’s more, the author and narrator also share a love of drugs and high times, and both believe in karma and the inevitable administration of karmic justice.

At the outset of the story, Chance jumps in his beat-up old Ford Taurus and heads off to his grandfather’s house to meet with his family after five years of estrangement. The forthcoming reunion, however, is not meant to be a loving, joyous celebration, but rather, a chance for Chance to confront his demons and execute his plans for vindication.

An outwardly successful man and well-respected doctor with a lot of clout in his hometown, Chance’s grandfather has committed some pretty unspeakable acts during his lifetime, and Chance can remain silent about them no longer. He’s determined to right the wrongs of his grandfather, and of many other folks who have offended him, and he’ll stop at nothing until he carries out his plans and unsparingly delivers what he calls justice.

As the story unfolds, Chance’s plans, which initially seem rather outrageous, shift more into focus, and his thoughts and actions walk the blurred line separating right from wrong. Though his view on justice is undoubtedly dark and controversial, it also cloaks some bright universal notions about fairness, integrity, and righteous behavior.

In Blind View Drive, Gufferd has created a novel that is so realistic and personal that even those among us who live tightly wound lives can identify with the strife, turmoil, and self-centered view of justice he expounds. His work speaks to that part of our human nature that many of us have buried deep within ourselves, that part that wants to ride bareback through life or freefall into it without a parachute.

A masterpiece full of dirty little secrets, Blind View Drive is a delightfully disturbing presentation worthy of being placed on the bookshelf alongside the works of celebrated authors like Charles Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, and Chuck Palahniuk. Like them, Gufferd succeeds at making us think about our own lives and the ways we struggle to fit into a social framework that we ultimately want to crumble.