"Ghost of a Flea" by James Sallis

The main character of Ghost of a Flea had been a detective, but this is not a detective novel. There are parts of this novel that I like very much, and there are parts that could have been eliminated. In the latter parts there are extended quotations from books and references to writers and artists that could be considered obscure. The narration is first person, and people in the book say that he uses quotations too much in his books. The other parts of the book are very original and entertaining, I would like to find other books by this author. I hope that he was able to be more confident in his own imagination instead of hiding behind quotations.