Abstract
“The Smashed Machine” is a collection of short stories moving toward a full-length fictional memoir about the descent of a love-struck writer (Ryan) into a life of crime and debauchery, following in the footsteps of his friend and crime connection, Vegas. As he falls further into this existence the narrative moves back and forth between the past and present, giving the reader instances of previous events and even some of the writer’s writing (from fiction to memoirs), thus explaining his movement into crime. Other characters, such as Fatman and G, offer conflicting advice with their presence and actions as his closest friends. The title is a play on the nickname of a famous no-holds-barred fighter, Mark “The Smashing Machine” Kerr, and the 2002 documentary of the same name, detailing his rise to fame and his crash and burn due opiate abuse.