c3j's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
sonia_reppe's review
4.0
This is my first T.C.Boyle book and I'm definitely going to read more of his because his writing is really good. The story, set in the late 60's, is about life in a Hippie commune in California, and a rustic newlywed couple in Alaska and what happens when the Hippie community packs up their camp and moves to the married couple's "neighborhood." I use the term lightly because this neighborhood in the middle of the wilderness, where you have to hunt for food and take a boat to the nearest town. These two stories are separate at first, and then they intersect. I usually don't like when a book is cut into parts that jump to a whole different story but I was pulled into the second story right away. In both parts, you have people who are trying to find/make a lifestyle that feels right to them.
Boyle takes his time with each scene, conjuring vivid atmospheres and motivated characters, (with several third person points of view) and even though there were eight or nine words that I had never seen before, the writing has an easy flow.
One of the best parts was the hippie caravan (referred to as the freak parade) on their way to Alaska, most of them travelling in a school bus with a pen of goats on top. Would they make it past the Canadian border? Would the draft dodger get busted? It was hilarious, but also true to what hippies would do and how they would do it. It kept me glued to the book, expecting disaster around every corner. It makes you wonder how they're going to survive in Alaska.
The parallel story about the young couple, Cecil and Pamela, was very sweet. I appreciated the in-depth characterization and I cared about those two characters trying to live a quiet, self-sufficient life.
Both of these peoples trying to "live off the land" in the perilous Alaskan wild makes for a good fictional social experiment, lots of potential for things to happen. So I wonder why Boyle needed to put in "the Villain" character of Joe Bosky. It worked, though. One of the last scenes–-a chase scene–-is pretty exciting. But I think the end was too abrupt. The four main characters are going to live happily for some time but I was left wondering, what happens with the other hippies--do they stay, does their leader come back and all the rest?
Boyle takes his time with each scene, conjuring vivid atmospheres and motivated characters, (with several third person points of view) and even though there were eight or nine words that I had never seen before, the writing has an easy flow.
One of the best parts was the hippie caravan (referred to as the freak parade) on their way to Alaska, most of them travelling in a school bus with a pen of goats on top. Would they make it past the Canadian border? Would the draft dodger get busted? It was hilarious, but also true to what hippies would do and how they would do it. It kept me glued to the book, expecting disaster around every corner. It makes you wonder how they're going to survive in Alaska.
The parallel story about the young couple, Cecil and Pamela, was very sweet. I appreciated the in-depth characterization and I cared about those two characters trying to live a quiet, self-sufficient life.
Both of these peoples trying to "live off the land" in the perilous Alaskan wild makes for a good fictional social experiment, lots of potential for things to happen. So I wonder why Boyle needed to put in "the Villain" character of Joe Bosky. It worked, though. One of the last scenes–-a chase scene–-is pretty exciting. But I think the end was too abrupt. The four main characters are going to live happily for some time but I was left wondering, what happens with the other hippies--do they stay, does their leader come back and all the rest?
sars05's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
jonbrammer's review
4.0
Boyle is always entertaining - what I found most interesting about this story was the juxtaposition between the wrongheaded hippie idealism that was already fading in the 70s and the hardened survivalists eking out an existence in the Alaskan bush. The drugged-out free-lovers and commune denizens are pretty easy targets, but in the end Boyle's point is that there are good and bad folks in every community, and that hard work and respect for others are the main things that divide them.
anitaofplaybooktag's review
4.0
Ok, this book really isn't a four star book. Unless you really like T.C. Boyle. And I do. I have no idea why. But I do.
In a nutshell, this book is a peek into what might happen if two completely opposing cultures had to contend with each other. It starts off at a hippie commune in California which ends up displaced to Alaska. Boyle develops a set of hippie characters and a set of hardworking, live off the land, Alaskan types - - and the two mix and mingle in ways that are both funny and also very tragic.
I try to put my finger on why I like Boyle's writing so much - - and I find it hard. I really don't think it is his plotting. He comes up with great situations to explore, and stuff does happen, but I don't get a strong feeling of resolution in his books. His characters in Drop City were terrific - - interesting, unique, and not always terribly insightful. Yet, you really never care about them much. If they die, they die. His writing doesn't make me emotionally charged like the writing of others.
BUT, the creativity!!! His premise was so interesting - - and he uses words to draw terrific mental pictures, of people, of place. I just think his writing is so well crafted and fun to read. His characters have such a rich mental life - - and it is so at odds with the way they behave sometimes - - just like real life.
All in all, this book just had a "hard to put down" quality - - and I was sorry when it was done. At over 500 pages, Boyle obviously does something right. . .
In a nutshell, this book is a peek into what might happen if two completely opposing cultures had to contend with each other. It starts off at a hippie commune in California which ends up displaced to Alaska. Boyle develops a set of hippie characters and a set of hardworking, live off the land, Alaskan types - - and the two mix and mingle in ways that are both funny and also very tragic.
I try to put my finger on why I like Boyle's writing so much - - and I find it hard. I really don't think it is his plotting. He comes up with great situations to explore, and stuff does happen, but I don't get a strong feeling of resolution in his books. His characters in Drop City were terrific - - interesting, unique, and not always terribly insightful. Yet, you really never care about them much. If they die, they die. His writing doesn't make me emotionally charged like the writing of others.
BUT, the creativity!!! His premise was so interesting - - and he uses words to draw terrific mental pictures, of people, of place. I just think his writing is so well crafted and fun to read. His characters have such a rich mental life - - and it is so at odds with the way they behave sometimes - - just like real life.
All in all, this book just had a "hard to put down" quality - - and I was sorry when it was done. At over 500 pages, Boyle obviously does something right. . .
mightingale's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
readers_block's review
3.0
i like TC boyle a lot, but this one was a miss for me. group of hippies travel from california to alaska. but nothing really...happens. his characters are half formed things here. felt like i was waiting for the story to start the entire time.
jane_moriarty's review
4.0
Content notes: rape of a minor, gang rape, death, drug use, child neglect
bettyvd's review
4.0
Mijn tweede T.C. Boyle. Hij schrijft zo mooi, zo vloeiend, zo beeldend. Twee vrouwen praten en ‘the hounds of gossip went barking up every tree’ . Hoe mooi is dat?! En meer van dat lekkers.
De verhaallijn zat goed, maar niet goed genoeg voor de vijf sterren.
De verhaallijn zat goed, maar niet goed genoeg voor de vijf sterren.