Off The Map

by Hib Chickena, Kika Kat

A punk rock vision quest told in the tradition of the anarchist travel story, Off The Map is narrated by two young women as they discard their maps, fears, and anything resembling a plan, and set off to Europe. Wandering across that continent, the dozens of vignettes are the details of the whole - a squatted castle surrounded by tourists on the Spanish coast, a philosophizing businessman on the highways of France, a placa full of los crustos in Barcelona... Originating as a zine given out to a few friends in Prague, this has now received the Crimethinc. lavish production treatment, and clocks in at 146 pages, complete with photographs, illustrations and a cover featuring original artwork by Nikki McClure. Cometbus eat your heart out.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Memoir, Feminism, Queer, Punk, Biography Memoir

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ocean · Rating 1 out of 5]

i will NEVER be able to figure out why anyone over the age of 20 takes anything by crimethinc seriously. this is the least believable shit ever!
let me clarify: i totally believe that 2 ladies can have an amazing time hitchiking/squatting their way around europe. however, i do not believe for a SECOND that this shitty book used to be a zine--a zine that magically had what, like 10,000 copies made for free? also highly unlikely. as any zinester can attest, scamming even 300 copies is usually a herculean undertaking.
the writing is not believable as a zine, either. it reads more like a fourth-rate supermarket romance novel (although it's slightly more interesting because it's about traveling punk rock ladies). it's not written well enough to allow this cynical reader to suspend her disbelief. the overall effect is one of someone who is drunkenly rambling about their life & you know they're full of shit but they won't shut the fuck up or even stop talking long enough for you to call bullshit.
my ex & i used to read this book in bed & laugh & laugh. she didn't believe that anyone could take it seriously, but she brought it up once at food not bombs & was dumbfounded when everyone else there--smart & cynical people themselves--defended it!
it's too bad that the cover is so beautiful. but i guess that cliche became a cliche for a reason.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/4/09:
This is my airplane travel book. It always makes me believe in wonderful things again.

To me this book is not about anarchy. My love for this book is not because I want to be an anarchist. It speaks to me because it's about believing in things and possibilities that we are told by everyone around us are NOT possible.

It's about silly frivolities. It's about seeing, experiencing, and loving life with the raw joy of a child.

It's about creating your own cultures. About being brave, fearless, full of life. About hoping and trusting in the kindness of strangers. About beautiful words. About finding your people.

I love this book because it awakens the believer in me, who loves to believe in human goodness; it awakens the adventurer in me, whose adventures will be different from Hib's and Kika's and that is a beautiful thing and really the whole point; and it awakens the storyteller in me, who knows telling stories is how we live forever and create legacies, how we build communities and how we relate to one another.

[Filip Boberić · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter if it's really written by some girls named Hibickina and Kika (who had been travelling in Europe without any map or concrete plan, led only by their own dreams and ideas), or by someone else who hasn't even experienced anything written here, no matter if stories are real or fictional, Off the Map is a sweet little book that deals with social, economic and political issues in a highly poetical way. Namely, it explores the world of squats, hitchhikers, punks, anarchists, dreamers, ordinary people, annoying tourists, bourgeoisie, religion, capitalism, gentrification, patriarchy, etc. Yeah, that's the world we live in. My absolutely favourite part (and maybe the most important moment in the book) is when they are in the abbey on top of Mt. St. Michel in France and Kika asks why we make places like that for some idea of god, but we don't make them for each other. And it isn't only about churches, but also about everything else that's created just to demonstrate power, accumulate profit and is inaccessible to the majority. Squats and other autonomous spaces, on the other hand, are the places built by the people for the people. They are not perfect (the girls draw attention mostly to some serious (and usually overlooked) instances of sexism and a huge lack of creativity and activity in some squats), but they are maybe the best we have right now and could be a good basis for the worlds we want.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reminds me of that time in my life before 11th grade when I wasn't a bitter asshole. Prepare yourself for the overuse of analogies, especially ones containing references to: 1) clotheslines in mid-july 2) letters in bottles 3) dandelions. BARF.
At any other point in my life, this book would only exacerbate my hatred for crimethinc published literature. However, because i'm psyching myself up for a big trip, this was the perfect thing to read. Time and place for everything I guess.

[Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always go into Crimethinc publications expecting, well, something more. This is the account of a young vegan's vacation in Europe. As such, it is every bit as annoying as you might imagine. Adding insult to injury, she believes in fairies AND angels. She goes hitchhiking and hangs out in squats, but, like, we have that stuff here.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

ughhhhh. "Hib Chickena" about sums it up.
I have to admit, though, at one point in my life I did want to go to New York and live in Leftover Crack's squat. But I don't think this book had anything to do with that. It might have been a residual effect of growing up in Mequon, like most of my problems.

[Rachel Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book for travelers, reads like a journal full of funny moments, dreams and introspection

[jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the things that inspired me to go to europe!! i love love love the way it’s so obviously self published with old photos and drawings :3

[Abby Guillory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this when I was in my early 20s and re-reading it in my late 30s. Love it.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is easy to see why this a cult classic among anarchist circles, two young american women on a roadtrip with no destination out to dream in Europe. The time this took place is vague but one can piece it together with the existence of a customs and border guard between Germany and the Czech republic, several mentions of the cold war as a thing of the past and a mention of "dutch" coinage as in issue when crossing into Belgium. Not that it really matters for the story or reading experience but as a Historian I can't help it but smack a date on everything I encounter.

The story is, well there isn't quite one not in the old fashioned sense anyways; it reminded me of a little fragment I read when I was 14: to a man with no port destination, no wind is favorable; any wind is favorable, to a man who does not care. As older female modern versions of tom Sawyer and huckleberry Finn, a comparison made in the book, Hib and Kika travel Europe stumbling, lifting, sleeping in gardens and squat crashing whenever they can based on nothing but vague stories of promising squatting scenes who more often then not turn out to be decrpited shades of the stories they heard. It is a roadtrip that avoids the road and is all about the people they encounter and the places of peace they uncover along the way. It is a story of being dirty, acknowledging the dangers an obstacles when travelling like this and scrunching what one can get. In other words, I would hate every moment of it.

I have a few acquaintances and one friend who lived like this for a couple of years and a few more who lived in a squatted house or were involved in the scene and have been myself briefly to a few locations that were not that different from the ones inhabited by the crusty scabbed punks Hib and Kika meet from time to time. It is interesting to get a glimpse of what this lifestyle is but I can't say it would be something for me. That made it difficult for me to fully appreciate the message of dreaming and what it could mean to be human that is interwoven in the story.

On another note, as many times before, my historian background rises to the occasion when reflecting on books. Many, if perhaps not all, pre modern societies had some form of opt out or semi part of society option, temporary for many, permanent for some most of which included this on the road experience. I can think off Franciscan beggar monks, Hindu Ashrams, Sufi mystics, Taoist hermits, certain spirit cults in Eastern africa and more formal (but way less organised as one would assume) Confucian teachers, medieval university students and islamic scholars who saw travelling between known centers of learning to be a respectable and sought after part of their growth as persons of knowledge. The Aboriginals even based their entire cosmonology on what Hib and Kika consider to be so essential for being a free and true human being; dreaming and real travelling, or as the aboriginals call it; the dream time.

Where am I going with this you ask? Well my point is that I am convinced that our modern society lacks this valid temporary (or permanent for some) op out option that pre modern societies had. Better analysed by Arnold van Gennep as liminality. I believe that this lacking of opt out options for a temporary period of time, has taken from us a vital tool in combating depression and anxiety. But would not all want to be like this if they had the chance you say! Well no, most people in the past did not become monks or lived in Ashrams. I see no point in forcing a segment of the population to adapt to the same rhythm as our own if it would only serve to make them unhappy nor do I see the point in preventing people from living in a different way for some time, if that is what they need to get back on their feet mentally and emotionally.

I could and would not want to live in a squatting community, nor do I have a desire to travel as Hib and Kika did but if the option existed, I would have enjoyed to travel and teach/learn like a Confucian scholar for some time. That would be my way of learning how to dream...

[Rocky · Rating 4 out of 5]

“But when we live in our own worlds, worlds where we have dreamed and created, worlds which sometimes surprise us, worlds we share and speak about loudly, resistance again becomes innate.”

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet if meandering tale of backpacking and squatting through Europe. The trajectory of the plot is entirely internal, which is rough, since it mainly consists of adjustment to and acceptance of the lifestyle of travel itself. The experiences recounted in the book ask questions of the radical lifestyle--how does one build a welcoming radical space? Where can it be done? How can sexism and prejudice be reduced or removed in interactions with strangers?--but do not answer these satisfactorily. I did enjoy that it ended before they returned to America; that felt more genuine than a circular journey would have. Felt like a conversation rather than a book, which is an understandable mood for a zine, as I understand this was originally published.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This week’s headline? female huck finns

Why this book? bookslut shout-out

Which book format? new through amazon

Primary reading environment? hippie juice bar

Any preconceived notions? …were blown away

Identify most with? can’t identify narrator

Three-word quote? “you’re already there”

Goes well with? avocados, coffee, dreams

This book is my bible. I hope it inspires you in some way as well. Mandi 12/06

Bear with me here.

The above quote kicks off an article in praise of used books from the webzine Bookslut.com. The author is sharing the inscription that prompted her to buy Mandi’s old copy of Off the Map.

It’s a lovely article that I would recommend (http://www.bookslut.com/features/2010...), but there’s more.

I love used books. I’m addicted to Bookslut.com. And my name is Mandy.

These are all the sort of connections I revel in, my definition of poetry.

I used to think that was good enough. Now, I see there is yet another layer to peel away.

It used to be that the experience of reading an article on my favorite website (the morning’s first blog, every day) about a topic dear to my heart (recycling literature) that mentions me by name (sort of) and recommends a book that turns out to be cheaply available on Amazon (I only had $3 to spend) and gets delivered right to my mailbox (literally) would have been an awesome enough journey for me. I could have stopped right there and admired the view. The book’s merits would be irrelevant. I would be happy that the universe had chosen to leave a little breadcrumb trail for me, and I wouldn’t care where it led.

That’s how I’ve lived since I had my horizons expanded in college, through study abroad and a liberal arts curriculum. That was a difficult time for me, and I’ve spent five years recovering from those growing pains. I thought I had lived through the worst and could maybe rest on my laurels.

Lately, however, I’ve been craving something more, and this book showed me the way.

Not my bible — but I’m not Mandi.

Other cultural accompaniments? Into the Wild (2007)

Grade: A

I leave you with this: “Community and creativity always trumps shallowness and hype in the end.” –Kim Hastreiter

[Meredith Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pros: it has two women protagonists who are, for once, not portrayed as sad victims. Instead, it is a lighthearted adventure story, a genre in which women don't often get much of a voice.

Cons: my first issue with the book came on one of the first pages when the narrator says that their goal in life is to "prove to ourselves that was possible to make our dreams happen without using other people's maps, money, or clocks." That's a good goal, right? But then on the very next page, the person they are squatting with explains that squatting usually means that the building owners have to go through a several month long process to evict the squatters through the courts. How can you say you want to make life on your own terms without other people's money if you are using legal loopholes to live on other people's property without the building owners consent? Presumably, the court process costs the owners money. Now, if these people were homeless as a result of difficult life circumstances, and not by choice, I might sympathize with them. However, they are squatters by choice, so it's hard to take them seriously.

I still wanted to give it a chance, so I kept reading, but it was overall pretty poorly written. There's no real plot development, and it seems like the authors just tried too hard to make every small thing that happened to be overly significant. It kind of reads like a drunk college student cornering you to tell you their life story. Also, it's told in first person, and switches back and forth between narrators without notice, and you can't tell who's narrating until one of the characters addresses the other by name.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just can't.

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is put out by an anarchist collective, www.CrimethInc.com, that eschews the use of such trivialities as bar codes and ISBNs. It's a little cliche, I know, but this is the first-ever book recommendation I've received from my sis, a notorious non-reader, so I had to see what it was all about.

The book was originally a zine, put together by two girls who were hitchhiking & squatting their way across Europe. They position themselves sometimes as witches, sometimes mermaids, sometimes dirty, tired, lonely girls. But always they are seeking, and dreaming, and trying to find something inspiring or just lovely in everything around them. They include episodes of despair and disappointment, along with tales of kindness and imagination. One chapter finds them playing house in an abandoned building that's still full of its previous owner's old photos, letters, and clothes; in another they're sleeping in a cave on a nude beach; they're picked up by all manner of crazies, including a ecstacy-addled French guy and an organic farmer from Germany. They work on a community garden, find a mysogynist train squat, move through France, Spain, Germany, Prague, Belgium, etc, etc, etc.

I have to admit that my jaded/cynical side found this all a little overly sentimental at times, but on the whole, the partially smothered naive dreamer that still sometimes peeks out through my bangs thought Off the Map was really really beautiful.

[Wendle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about travelling, about adventure and about an alternative way of seeing and doing things. I loved this book. I love that this book exists, and would encourage any and everyone to read it.

I loved reading views and opinions about the world, and ways to live in it that i could appreciate and share. To read about people who see the world in a similar way to me was a joy. I might not agree with everything Hib and Kika expressed, but the fact that they don’t take the world as it is given to them—that they see and think for themselves—was what i most strongly agreed with.

The book is not written as a typical story; it’s not a straightforward account of their travels. Instead it more like snippets and stories of their travels. Time and space skips in large chunks, without pause, and you just have to keep up. I liked it like that. Instead of weaving an intricate narrative, they present you with 30 small ones. It’s a book that you could flip through to read any random chapter and you wouldn’t be thrown into the middle of a story you wouldn’t understand—each chapter is its own story.

Longer review can be read at: http://marvelatwords.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/off-the-map/

[Kristeeeee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A female, more magical version of "On the Road", and quite possibly going to be one of my top three favorite books. the Goodreads' description of this being a "punk rock" tale kind of knots my girdle. these chicks make fun of the inclusive punk scenesters all throughout these chapters, and take comfort in their own individuality and acceptance of the way their "witchery" reveals characters and scenarios of all sorts. i don't care about the politics, or even the truth, of the preamble--whether it was a zine or not or that it was printed again by CrimethInc. It's terrifical (yes, terrifical) writing that sparkles off the page. A staggering and drunken punk man stumbled into me in Germany once and slurred "what IS the truth? Saaaa truuf is notting! Saaa truuf doos not eeexust!" Exactly. The truth of it's origins does not matter, saaa truuf doos not eeexust. Enjoy the story for the story's sake, for Christ's sake.

[Smiley III · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who read CrimeThinc.'s Invasion, and thought there was no-one else like that, here's another: Off the Map is all sorts of places, hardly just geographical, that you'd like to hear about people going, without being touristy or a slave to watered-down notions of "party." (As in: "Party on, Wayne!" and/or "Communist Party," etc.)

The writing is pleasing and competent; it sneaks up on you, how "agreeable" the tone is, how "empathetic" their perspectives, until you become (face it!) a political Radical by reading's end.

Why bother. You're gonna think some half-baked "indie" things, anyway ... they're in the meme-pool! Might as well get yer shit straight ... Kudos!

[Kristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

at first this book really bothered me. I couldn't get into it at all. It just all seemed to ridiculous; two girls traveling across europe with almost no money, relying on the kindness of strangers and luck to keep them fed and sheltered. but by the end of the book i was really into it. the literal things that they did, i don't think i could ever do. but i understand why they did them. they wanted to prove that you can get by in this world without relying on a job and a home and a capitalist structure. they wanted to prove that love and kindness was enough. i still think that was they did was incredibly dangerous and idealistic but i love the hope that came through in their journey.

[Wybie Lovat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those few books I will never forget. Ever. I picked it up in the library by chance, and the first page sent my imagination spinning with wild fantasies and dreams of running away and making my own life. And those thoughts are still with me, lingering in every action I make.
This book changes you. For better or for worse, it is highly worth it. I really reccommend you read it, or worship it, like I do.
Oh... right. One more thing.
SQUATTERS FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read, 12/2022: Of all the Crimethinc books, this is the one I return to again and again. It is the distillation of all the theory and preachiness of their other books into passionate lived, and loved, experience.


A quick, passionate read about making your own maps through countries, continents and ideologies. Freedom at its best.

[Kit Feral · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this as a zine. I think I was 20 but given the impression it left on me I may have been in my late teens. it was interesting to read it as a book (and easier!) and interesting to read it through adult eyes. it does not invoke as much in me now. I don't want that life anymore and it feels less romantic. I still enjoyed parts of it. at times the writing is rich and the sentiments are bold and true. I wonder what they are doing now.

also I'm a big fan of nikki's children's books so it was both weird and cool to see her work here.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so curious how I would have felt about this book if I read it in my 20s. Now, mid 30s I just found myself thinking about how much it seemed like, despite their aspirations, they rarely seemed to actually enjoy themselves. But I can see how for a certain type of person in a certain phase of life it would feel like license to go pursue your dreams. But I found it sad, really, how many of these intentional communities they visit just didn’t seem to understand inclusion in any real way at all. But that part was painfully accurate.

[Chilly SavageMelon · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I read, I kept thinking, this isn't Cometbus, which isn't fair. Of course it's not. And just because I enjoy Cometbus more than these women telling their tale, I could easily seeing other readers going the other way. And certainly the writers of each would take no serious issue with one another. But definitely check out Cometbus if you haven't and enjoyed this. I don't think you'll find it too "dude tale"...

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when it came out. Re-reading it: I was worried about being bitter and wondering why I chose to read this book. It’s been on my shelf since 2003. Why did I keep it though moving? It’s a relic of the past, and has a lot of hope for a future. It’s still interesting and makes me yearn for a dream. I no longer want to visit the squats mentioned and after hitchhiking a couple of times I know it’s not for me. However Off the Map is still an interesting read.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was beautifully written. I think people find issue with this book because they expect a handbook guide on how to survive as crust punk travelers. If you expect to read what this is, which is basically a heavily romanticized version of someone's crust punk travelings, you will enjoy it much more.

[Zefyr · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know that thing where people say they're living off the grid because they're living in a tiny home...built from their parents' income, on their parents' land, with their parents' electrical grid? In other words, on the grid in all but name? Yeah, this is off the map the way that's off the grid.

[Katie MacLaren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book. Hib and Kika speak so much of what is in my own heart. Tired of old maps and ways of being, fearlessly entering insecure wayward paths and rejecting the notion that we must always play it safe and by the rules - these girls are my heroes!

[carissamaef · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites. :)

[Renee Holcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look into squats all around europe.. I think this is non fiction? Anyway a look into a different world.