Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel

Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel is Richard Brautigan's seventh novel, completed in 1975 it was published the following year.

Sombrero Fallout is a novel which follows two stories. The first revolves around a humorist in San Francisco in 1972 trying to cope with the recent loss of his Japanese lover, which includes various dreams the ex-lover is having. During a particular fit, the author becomes dissatisfied with a story he had just begun about a sombrero falling from the sky. This story eventually takes on a life of its own, including a heroic cameo appearance by Norman Mailer.

Publication history

 * 1976, US, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-22331-3, Pub date Sep 1976, Hardback
 * 1977, UK, Jonathan Cape, ISBN 0-224-01371-8, Pub date Mar 1977, Hardback
 * 1978, US, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-23025-5, Paperback
 * 1978, UK, Macmillan, ISBN 0-330-25548-7, Pub date Nov 1978, Paperback
 * 1987, UK, Arena/Arrow, ISBN 0-09-939110-4, Pub date 02 Apr 1987, Paperback
 * 1998, UK, Rebel Inc, ISBN 0-86241-801-1, Pub date May 1998, Paperback
 * 2001, UK, Rebel Inc, ISBN 1-84195-137-4, Pub date 02 Jun 2001
 * 2012, UK, Canongate, ISBN 0-85786-264-2, Paperback

The 2012 Canongate edition includes an introduction by Jarvis Cocker who chose the book to accompany him on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2005.