JDP

by Ron Burch

Jay Q. Wilson Jr. needs help desperately. His celebrity museum in Hollywood slowly goes into debt while Wilson's landlord wants to jump his rent so much Wilson soon won't have a home for his collection of celebrity memorabilia. Worse, he had always hoped that eventually he and his work would impress his assistant, a woman he secretly loves. But it's not looking good until Jay finds out that Hollywood's greatest urban myth, JDP, might actually exist. If Jay can get his hands on JDP, it might be enough of a celebrity score that could save his shop. Oh, and JDP stands for James Dean's Penis. It's apparently floating in a jar somewhere in Los Angeles that Jay hopefully finds before he loses his business and the woman he loves. “Ron Burch’s second novel examines class mobility unexpectedly and intelligently, while ruminating on why materialism rots our best intentions. JDP shows the remarkable lengths to which we are consumed by obsession. Q is pitiable, merciless—a collector fading in a dynamic industry, scheming for his shot at immortality. With JDP, Burch has crafted an endlessly funny and wry Hollywood conspiracy for our modern times.” —Jason Teal, We Were Called Specimens Ron Burch exposes the offbeat edge of California’s most mythical urban places populated with tourists feeding the quest for memorabilia of dead celebrities—leading to the ultimate prize, JDP. Tough and gritty with equal parts heart and offbeat humor, the novel’s innovative narrative pumps new noir through the veins of Hollywood in an ironic journey with an unlikely XXXL protagonist who runs a celebrity museum and stretches the limits of anti-hero iconography. —Aimee Parkison, author of Sister Séance and Refrigerated Music for a Gleaming Woman "A down-and-out Hollywood tour guide’s absurd quest to find a dead celebrity’s body part, Ron Burch’s JDP is a funny and entertaining romp through the Los Angeles you won’t see on your Starline tour. Part The Big Lebowski, part The Cruise, Burch’s novel is a witty love letter to The City of Broken Dreams." —Leland Cheuk, author of No Good Very Bad Asian Ron Burch's fiction has been published in numerous literary journals including South Dakota Review, Fiction International, Mississippi Review, and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. BLISS, INC., his last novel, is also from BlazeVOX books. He lives in Los Angeles, where he works in the entertainment business as a producer and screenwriter.

246 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2021

About the author

Ron Burch is the author of BLISS, INC.(BlazeVox Books, 2010). His story "I Need" was anthologized in TOO MUCH: TALES OF EXCESS. Ron's work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Kilgore_Trout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading epics lately. Stories with 10 main characters, 20 subplots, and 60o pages long. They're fun to read because of how immersive they become, but Goddamn its hard to keep track of what the hell's going on. JDP does not do that. Its take's you along with Jay Q. Wilson Jr.'s quest to find JDP. What is JDP? I'll just say of all the initialisms (fancy word!) that one could come up with, it would be worth an Indian Head nickel if you got it right.

I see this book taking place in the world of Repo Man Los Angeles. The yellowish hues, the uncomfortable sweatiness, and the just slightly hidden world that's one left turn beyond our grasp all permeate Jay's world. I have spent only a little time in LA, but Ron Burch captures that essence of unreality and familiarity that seems to swirl around Los Angeles to a tee.

It also turns out that no one is bad and no one is good in this world. Its turns out that people are selfish and generous, cruel and kind, unhappy and happy all at the same time. As though were all chasing after that one thing that we think will solve all world's problems and sometimes feel like we need to step on others to make it happen.

I loved this book. I loved how easy it was to read. I loved that all of the characters were likeable. I loved how it ends but not really. Go read it!