Clean Time: the True Story of Ronald Reagan Middleton

“Ben Gwin writes like F. Scott Fitzgerald high on meth and Clean Time is The Great Gatsbyfor a generation that thinks fame is the answer to every question.”

 –LORI JAKIELA, Portrait of the Artist as a Bingo Worker

“A vivid portrait of life in the druggy demimonde of petty scams, aimless loafing erupting in sudden violence, and epic pharmaceutical hangovers.” –PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Framed as the drug-addled memoir of addict-turned-reality TV star Ronald Reagan Middleton (annotated and published by floundering doctoral candidate Harold Swanger), Clean Time is a darkly comic satire set in a near-future America ravaged by addiction. In this sprawling and ambitious debut novel, Ben Gwin masterfully balances farce and irony with a genuine compassion for the large cast of characters that fumble through a nightmarish and all-too-familiar version of America.