false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167543423m/24724.jpg 24724 16 With <I>Drop City</I>, T. Coraghessan Boyle offers proof that he has become one of America's most prolific, gifted storytellers. Set in the 1970s, Boyle entertains readers with the denizens of "Drop City," a counterculture California commune that welcomes anyone wanting to live off the grid, use drugs, and practice free love. Boyle sublimely captures the sociology of its rebellious members, who doubt the sincerity or beliefs of newcomers, express some insecurity about nonconformity, and chastise outsiders while remaining oblivious to their own hypocrisy. Marco, Pan, Star, and other "cats" and "chicks" live hassle-free until dissention and cries of racism mount amid increasing run-ins with the local government (a young girl is raped, installation of a sewage system is mandated, a mother lets her toddlers drink LSD-laced juice). Seeking refuge, the citizens move north, to Alaska, to reinvent their utopia, but soon learn the natural environment is more unforgiving of a lackadaisical lifestyle. <p> <I>Drop City</I> is funny, evocative, and well-paced, shifting between the hippies and the Alaskan locals--primarily Sess and his new bride Pamela (a city dweller who arranged stays with several trappers over a few weeks to determine whom she would marry)--until the two cultures collide. Balanced between plot and character, Boyle excels at describing the physical world and his characters' interaction with it, whether portraying the harshness (or sheer beauty) of the Alaskan wilderness, the simple survival routines of its grizzled inhabitants, or the sounds wafting through Drop City: "the goats bleating to be milked or fed, the single sharp ringing note of a dog surprised by its own hunger, the regular slap of the screen door at the back of the house--and underneath it all, like the soundtrack to a movie, the dull hum of rock and roll leaking out the kitchen windows." Truly American in spirit, <I>Drop City</I> is a strong novel of freedom and those in pursuit of lives of liberty. <I>--Michael Ferch</I> 3159281 2002 Drop City total:2531|5:552|4:1040|3:719|2:173|1:46| 2531 9474 3436 394 4 6 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 18 12:51:23 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 18 12:52:51 -0700 2007
(Just like anyone else who is a lover of great books, I find myself sometimes with a desire to become a "completist" of certain authors; that is, to have read every book that author...more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Apr 09 11:17:54 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 05 05:08:48 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 09 11:17:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Jan 25 05:11:05 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 05:11:05 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Apr 22 14:31:07 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 16 16:08:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Mar 25 10:19:59 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 03 17:18:44 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 17 10:00:49 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 22 13:55:25 -0800 2007
More interesting, ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 30 08:40:38 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 08:41:06 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Oct 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 21 09:10:22 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 09:10:42 -0700 2009 Slightly off my own self imposed bizarre system of order to this task, I bought Drop City in London after totally underestimating how much I'd manage to read on my stupendously long train journeys this weekend (back to Edinburgh via Newcastle then Carlisle?! Riiiight). Drop City details the oc...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 08 19:32:15 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 04:05:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed May 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 23:06:48 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 11:37:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 20:12:12 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 18:32:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Jul 25 13:05:19 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 13:08:11 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Mar 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 19:03:10 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 19:04:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 18 10:31:14 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 10:50:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 11:31:31 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 12:33:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 06:23:43 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 06:55:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 12:15:24 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 13:33:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 09:16:13 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 14:07:18 -0800 2009 In T.C. Boyle's novel, the Drop City referred to in the title is a free love hippie commune in the 1970's. The commune starts out in California where the hippies lounge about enjoying their lifestyle. After a run-in with the local law enforcement, they decide to move north to Alask...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Aug 05 07:29:40 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 07:30:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Dec 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 05:23:09 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 05:32:54 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=24724