Portable Altamont by Brian Joseph Davis (Coach House) is an astounding book of comic genius for slackers and Gen X-ers the world over. Davis has created strange, outlandish riffs on popular culture, paying homage to our literary and musical icons, by lying through his teeth: Margaret Atwood is a gangsta-rapper and Mick Jagger is the size of a pea. Portable Altamont is a brilliant combination of tabloid journalism and existential philosophy that highlights the inherent weirdness of celebrity.