Crosstown

Matt Hartman is a freelance editor and cataloguer, running Hartman Cataloguing, Editing and Indexing Services.

Crosstown chronicles the journey of Mitchell, a boozy derelict and
modern-day Ulysses. When the mission he lives in has to close its doors,
Mitchell travels from one end of Toronto to the other, seeking shelter,
the warmth of a doorway, and the comfort of a bottle. His travels brings
him into contact with both the sinister and the supportive people of the
city—Mitchell interacts with them all, oblivious to any evil intent
until it is too late. In counterpoint to his journey, Mitchell also
remembers parts of his former life as a respected physician. The
detritus and tragedy of that life is pocked with delusions, but the
author has given his hero a fatalistic humor with which he wards off
even the most horrible personal experience.

Richard Scrimger portrays a seldom seen side of Toronto—a Toronto of
alleys and clinics and skinheads. His sense of place adds immeasurably
to the flow of the plot and plays no small part in the story’s
success. Recommended for the public library.