Descanso

by Jay Spencer Green

"Everything went downhill after the invention of the wheel. Before then, it had just stayed where it was."

Drug-dealer, brothelkeeper, devoted sibling, spy, Manuel Estímulo expected his retirement on a remote desert island in the Atlantic to be one long, well-deserved rest, a descanso before death, devoted to prayer, Real Madrid, and the odd glass of Cardenal Mendoza brandy at breakfast. The other inhabitants, after all, knew to keep themselves to themselves and were in any case preoccupied with maintaining a precarious co-existence with the Gambies, victims of a strain of non-lethal rabies that rendered them something of an inconvenience to the tourist industry. Nobody was going to ask Manuel too many questions about his past.

"For all its downsides, Hell at least offers the prospect of eternal life after death. For this reason, I believe it is too good for some people. Especially some of the people I killed."

But when news reaches Manuel that his Nemesis, the Beast with Three Fingers, has arrived on the island, thereby fulfilling an ancient Falangist prophecy, he is forced to up sticks and make the perilous journey South to the Nazi redoubt of his longtime friends the Rotgütts. Armed only with a baton of chorizo, his Spanish Army knife, and the decomposing but garrulous body of his beloved sister Candelaría, can Manuel make it to safety or will his past finally catch up with him on the Island that Time Ignored?

"Books are like women. Rarely worth the effort."

#NotAllBooks! This book is nothing like a woman. Or any man, for that matter. It is an adventure you won't forget, but also an encyclopaedic sourcebook you will return to time and again, the collected wit and wisdom of the Last True Fascist. Get it now before you're bit!

"The motherlode of misinformation" - Miguel de Cervantes

"I couldn't put it down" - Pedro Calderón de la Barca

"Smashing" - Félix Lope de Vega



Descanso, or The Last True Fascist, the latest crime against literature from Jay Spencer Green

350 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2025

About the author

Rabelaisian, Experimental, Inventive, and Fun, the novels of Jay Spencer Green are like Goya's Black Paintings in literary form, the kind of enjoyment you get looking into somebody else's abyss to avoid looking into your own.

Comparisons have been made with Kurt Vonnegut, J. G. Ballard, Angela Carter, and Joseph Heller, none of them favourable.

His official website is here.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to take a moment to thanks Mr. Jay Spencer Green, 5 pages in and I knew this book would be sending me to Hell, my parents raised me better than to be laughing at these rather immature jokes…whilst I have yet to reach the gates of Hell I decided to continue reading and upgrade my laughs to guffaws.

Using an encyclopaedia that he has masterfully put together, our hero (in the loosest terms possible) hides his story in plain sight. As we explore each letter…in the alphabet…we learn about animals, the absurd laws that still 100% exist in USA, how great Spain and the glorious Franco is, we get updates on the zombie outbreak currently happening on a remote Atlantic island with an absurdly made up name of Fuerteventura, we learn about how silly women are and with one random word Manuel moves on his story as he is hunted down by the Beast with Three Fingers. Has there ever been an encyclopaedia as high octane as this one? I imagine this is how it is when Tom Cruise reads a book.

I have really enjoyed this this book, I stuttered at the beginning as I didn’t expect it to be laid out like this but I soon got into JSG’s sharp wit and gripping story…there is one issue now though: Whilst I would love this book to become huge and read by millions I have one concern…is the dumbest species on the planet ready to read a book like this and NOT believe it to be fact? I have learnt that the US has a law that forbids you from sleeping in the same room as spaghetti….there is no way they are ready for a book like this!

Read this book at your own peril…if you don’t own a peril then read it anyway.

Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2025...

[Roz Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant, clever and hilarious read. I don't want to give anything away, but the delivery was perfect. 


Told from Manuel's point of view, he fills us in on all manner of subjects, his views are often questionable... but his story is nonetheless fascinating and enlightening in equal measure! 


I loved the sarcastic and often dark tone of the book and found myself laughing throughout, I especially liked his observations of the English in Benidorm! 


This is a unique take on a crime fiction and I enjoyed how the story creeps up on you as it is easy to fall for all the 'facts' on offer. It is well written and had me quickly turning the pages.


A book you need to go into blind for a wild and unexpected ride. Thoroughly enjoyed this one! 


Huge thanks to the author and Love Books Tours for providing a copy of the book to review. 

[Sudeshna Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jay Spencer Green's 'Descanso' immerses readers in a sidesplittingly chaotic universe in which Manuel Estímulo, retired drug-dealer, brothel-owner, and spy, attempts a tranquil "rest" upon a isolated Atlantic island. His scheme for serene reflection, bound to prayer, Real Madrid, and brandy, is soon overthrown.

The island, rather than peaceful, is haunted by "Gambies" victims of rabies that are not lethal providing a strange, darkly comedic subtext. But Manuel's actual torment comes in the form of the "Beast with Three Fingers," his arch-nemesis, which fits into an old Falangist prophecy. This compels Manuel on a dangerous trek south with nothing but chorizo, a Spanish Army dagger, and the corpse of his rotting but always talkative sister.

'Descanso' is a crazy, unpredictable ride, combining absurd humor with a surprisingly compelling plot. The writing is witty and distinctive, a true voice that's both sardonic and strangely philosophical. It's a novel that resists easy classification, presenting an adventure that is as much an "encyclopedic sourcebook" of the eccentric worldview of the protagonist as it is an action-packed thrill ride. If you're looking for a read that's truly off the beaten path and laugh-out-loud humorous, 'Descanso' is the book for you.

[David Gall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark comic thriller wrapped up in a wacky tractatus.
The funniest thing I’ve read in years.

[Bamidele Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descanso: Or, the Last True Fascist is a sharp, satirical novel that mixes dark humor with biting social commentary. Jay Spencer Green delivers a narrative that’s both absurd and thought-provoking, exploring politics, ideology, and human contradictions with wit and irony. The prose is clever, the tone unapologetically bold, and while it won’t be for every reader, those who enjoy satirical fiction and political critique will find it both challenging and rewarding.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much that I dove straight in for a re-read (not something I do often), and it was just as marvelous the second time around!

Laid out in the form of an encyclopedia, the reader gets an insight into the personality of the protagonist, Manuel, as he navigates his way out of retirement when he learns that his fiercest enemy, The Beast with the Three Fingers, has come to his island of retreat. From his definitions of Aardvark to Easter to Red Pill to Yachts, Manuel's observations and opinions of life are conveyed with absolute authority, despite being questionable in nature, but always hilarious in delivery.

The added special touch is that Manuel very often uses pidgin English or made-up words. Kudos to the author for maintaining this consistency throughout the novel.

The plot is gripping, the humour is dark, the writing is sophisticated and skillful, giving the novel a wholesome, enjoyable experience that can be revisited time and again for a proper laugh-out-loud escape from reality.

I don't think that we have heard the last of Manuel's mission for being the Last True Fascist, and I can't wait to read more of his observations in this life of being "a bemusement park".

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

DESCANSO - taken from the Spanish, meaning "place of rest, as of a funeral procession.” However, similar to the above funeral procession (check out the guy in red playing the trombone), Jay Spencer Green's novel is a blast, actually, make that a trombone blast and a half.

One way to read Jay's sizzling literary blaster is for sheer fun. And since the novel is written akin to a dictionary, that is, entries listed in twenty-six chapters moving from A to Z, all a reader has to do is flip through or pop back and forth stopping to gander at select entries. To share a tantalizing taste, feast your glazes on a batch of very short entries taken from the first four letters of the alphabet:

Action, Man of: The True Fascist is a man of deeds, no words. I have already said too much.

Antichrist, The: Supports Barcelona.

Arizona: In the U.S. State of Arizona, is illegal to use armadillos as paperweights.

Baboons: Sent by God to torment us.

Bethlehem: The hotel prices are just as exorbitant as in Jesus' day.

Books: Books are like women: rarely worth the effort.

Calima: During the calima, dogs cough at both ends.

Christo (1935-2020): Well-known wrap artist.

Doo-Dah, Doo-dah: Camptown ladies sing this song.

Now, for those brave souls willing to take a deeper dive into Descanso, welcome to the land of ergodic literature—that is, fiction that requires the reader to become an active participant, to break a mental sweat. It demands a bit more effort than simply reading passively in the traditional linear way. Reading ergodic literature can involve flipping pages out of order, solving puzzles, or relating various sections of the work to one another in original, creative ways. Examples of ergodic literature include If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Let me share a case in point from my own reading of Descanso, a novel with a distinctively Spanish flare. Olé!

The narrator, one Manuel Estimulo, is a dyed-in-the-wool Fascist (refer back to that cheerfully damning entry under Man of Action). Through his eyes, we’re offered a tour of the world as filtered through the cracked lens of authoritarian certainty—judgments handed down with the finality of stone tablets. Manuel casts his withering gaze on the many philosophies, cultures, and spiritual leanings that don’t align with his rigid catechism. Let’s just say the traditions of enlightenment—Buddhism, Yoga, and their kin—don’t exactly receive a warm embrace. Quite the opposite: they’re treated as decadent detours, fit for mockery, if not outright theological exorcism. As in -

Buddhism: Good enough for the Chinese, Tibetans, and the like, but God did not intend for them to go to Heaven anyway. Is a worrying trend that some idiot Europeans have also adopted this fake religion, but we Catholics will not squat, lie down, or meditate for anyone. Proper religious postures are the kneeling, the bowing of the head, and the prostration. Meditation is just praying with an empty head. No wonder God doesn't answer.

Yoga: A Satanic practice based on ancient Hindus' attempts to suck themselves off or to spend the afternoon sniffing women's farts. Saint Paul reminds us that apparently pleasant experiences such as the attainment of Nirvana and autofellation may well be portals to evil. “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” Despite what the Yogis are teaching us, we should always remember that we are not at one with God and the universe; rather we are cut off from him, separated by a vast chasm of sin that only Jesus can cross, and Jesus doesn't cross it by doing the downward dog.

But, but, but . . . how much of Jay's book is black humor, dark humor, weird humor, odd, offbeat, sardonic, far out and bugged-out humor that prompts us to reflect and see life in fresh ways? I'm reluctant to include irony since the definition of irony we're given tends to be, well . . . best left to each reader to figure out (one of the many puzzles of ergodic literature, Jay Spencer Green-style).

Irony: The invention of lazy minds. There are no ironies in life. The reason why our reproductive and excretory organs are so close together is that sex is dirty and shitting is fun.

One thing’s certain: Descanso isn’t a book you simply read—it’s one you grapple with, get lost in, argue with, and return to with renewed curiosity. Forget a tidy narrative arc; what Jay Spencer Green offers instead is a playful, maddening, and wildly inventive literary obstacle course. You're invited to stretch your mind, sharpen your interpretive chops, and come away with a reading experience that sticks to your ribs. A literary escapade par excellence—equal parts puzzle, provocation, and punk rock sermon.

I'll let Jay have the last words by listing a quartet of my favorite P words.

Pennsylvania: In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, lap dancers must give fifty percent concessions one day a week to the unemployed, pensioners, and the blind.

Pornography: Is in the hand of the beholder.

Prejudice: What Pride comes before.

Putin, Vladimir: The Russian Franco.



Born in Solihull, England, Jay Spencer Green has lived in Dublin, Ireland for over twenty years.

[Mary Papastavrou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read Descanso from start to finish twice in a short time-that was how much I enjoyed it. This was also an opportunity to test how the jokes would work the second time. So I’m delighted to report that it felt as fresh, hilarious, exhilarating as the first time. 350 plus pages of tour de force.
The hilarity is sometimes a result of being hit with the unexpected, or the outrageous, or the caustic and sardonic wit, or the macabre or the good old dirty joke . But, reader fear not: Descanso is not a cheap thrill. The author who is obviously widely and wildly read furnishes his anti hero’s personality, thought and circumstances with a myriad of references that his character distorts accordingly to build his arguments. Instead of the text feeling stuffy it feels alive and invigorating. Manuel feels as real as somebody’s grotesque uncle in real life.
Manuel Estimulo, the man of many aliases is deliciously despicable. His misogyny is off the charts, his fear of progress/evolution is keeping him awake and he laments that the Modern Fascism of Germany and Italy is inferior to the notion of a True Fascist as himself. He believes that all the humanity’s problems started after that episode of Disobedience in the Garden of Eden.
The writing is intelligent and that by itself is a source of joy for the reader. It’s apparent that the Descanso universe was built word by word in a painstakingly hard working manner. How else can you write something so good? Of course the razor-sharp talent that the author has spoiled us with, also helps!
The choice of the dictionary method is a good one. It starts with Aardvark just for the hell of it, and in the beginning is as flighty and discursive as you would expect it only for everything to fall nicely into place.
Buy it and read it and be ready for a treat!

[Michael Trounce · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a line in this book that I think transforms its whole meaning {Spoiler Alert]. In the denouement, Manuel's Fascist comrades, the Rotgutts, explain to him that, "... our delirium, while constant, is, like yours, refined, sharp, hard, impenetrable, like a diamond" (italics mine). Once you understand that Manuel is, like the Rotgutts, also in a state of delirium, the entire second half of the book begins to make sense. Manuel is the "Last True Fascist" because he is the only one whose Fascist delirium is not the result of having been bitten by a rabid dog or gambie. Once this penny dropped with me, I found myself working back through the book (I read it a second time) and enjoying it even more than the first time, when it just seemed like the entertaining absurdist ramblings of a brutalized, marginal, and marginalized social pariah. It's a book that has a number of layers and can be read on any one of them with some enjoyment, but spotting the multiple meanings and insinuations (it's a Brexit novel, too, right? Gammons, xenophobia, a remote backward island off the coast of the continent) only adds to the fun. Loved it. Can't wait for another one. I'm bitten.

[Daisy Hollands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you ever finish a book and find yourself staring into the middle distance, asking yourself internally “WHAT did I just read?” That’s me right now.

I enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong, it was entertaining and very … unique and different. But wow. If the first book was a riot, this one is full on anarchy!

To start with, I genuinely thought I was reading a glossary. Cool. Love a glossary. But no. No, this was the story. (Told you it was unique and different) and because it was broken down alphabetically into chunks, it was a super quick read. A short story collection with the shortest stories when really it was one big story.

I’m not making sense am I? Get the book. It will all become clear. Dark, hilarious and at times quite disturbing but a good read nonetheless

[Mx Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now the synopsis does have something right, I will be referring to some of the definitions again and again because they are absurdly funny. The author is right when they say, “It is an adventure you won’t forget.” I had a mind frack of a good time. Kudos to the author for a brilliant satire of a novel.

I received a free copy of this book, and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

[Anna Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descanso: Or, the Last True Fascist is a darkly funny, wildly imaginative satire that pulls you into Manuel Estímulo’s outrageous world. With sharp wit, absurd adventures, and a cast of unforgettable characters, it’s both bizarre and brilliant. A unique, page-turning read that fans of unconventional storytelling will love.