A review by anitaofplaybooktag
Drop City by T.C. Boyle
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. . .