501 Minutes to Christ - Tapa blanda

'Ballantine has honed his prose so that it is as fresh as a downpour in Decora... He humanises the mythic underbelly of the American nowhere while also revealing some truly repellent characters...His self-deprecating humour is the making of his writing and possibly the keeper of his sanity.'
The Times

'Warm-hearted, witty and tender. Pinballing around the country, Ballantine describes a patchwork quilt of small town Americana, along the way meeting a rich cast of drunks, headcases and deadbeats'
Guardian

'Calmer than Bukowski, less portentous than Kerouac, more hopeful than West'
San Diego Tribune

'Poe Ballantine reminds us that in a country full of identical strip malls and chain restaurants there's still room for adventure. He finds humour in situations that most would find unbearable and flourishes like a modern-day Kerouac... A book to cherish and pass on to friends'
Mark Poirier

'Characters that leap from the page like a pop-up book... Ballantine has a style all of his own. That his books have now made the trip over the pond is the perfect excuse to buy some cherry wine, and find that perfect reading bench in your nearest park.'
Evening Herald

'The most ejoyable book we've read all month: warm, hobo-wise and oddly comforting'
Dazed & Confused

'501 Minutes is a vibrant memoir of the writer's penniless existence bouncing from homelessness in New Orleans to dog-sitting in Colorado.Ballantine's tales of keeping saneare reminiscent of Kerouac and Hunter S Thompson'
Monocle -----

Poe Ballantine's second volume of true American stories follows in the tradition of his first travel-come-memoir, Things I Like About America. As he wanders from town to town, from motel to boarding house, bus station to bar, old job to new - and as he counts, for the hundredth time, the handful of dollars in his pocket and wonders where he can get a cheap meal - Ballantine manages to capture in words an America so downtrodden, funny and surprising that it's hard to forget.