Draußen, am Eingangstor der Drop City Ranch irgendwo in Kalifornien, hängt ein Sperrholzschild windschief an einem Querpfosten. "Keine Männer, keine Frauen -- nur Kinder!" steht darauf zu lesen. Und tatsächlich haben sich drinnen etwa 60 Menschen versammelt, die nicht erwachsen werden wollen: Hippies der Flower-Power-Ära, die auf dem geerbten Terrain eine Insel der Glückseligen schaffen wollen. Alles, was man zum Leben braucht, ist auf der Ranch versammelt: Ziegen und Zucchini, Platten von Jimmi Hendrix bis Country Joe and the Fish -- und Drogen natürlich, jede Menge Drogen.<p> Aber die Welt ist nicht ganz so unschuldig in Drop City, wie seine Bewohner es sich ersehnen, schließlich befinden wir uns in einem Roman von T.C. Boyle. Ein echtes Kind schluckt LSD im Fruchtsaft, ein anderes Kind wird von den Jüngern freier Liebe vergewaltigt. Und dann tritt Gott auf in Gestalt des Sheriffs und vertreibt die Hippies aus ihrem trügerischen Paradies. So müssen sie sich auf die Reise machen ins kalte Alaska, wo wiederum eine Hütte auf sie wartet. Über die Grenze kommen sie nur, weil die zugekiffte Gruppe den Zöllnern weismacht, sie seien die Greatful Dead auf Welttournee.<p> Auf den Einfall, die Generation der Flower-Power-Bewegung zum Thema eines Romans zu machen, kam Boyle bei den Recherchen über die Umweltbewegung für sein Buch <i>Ein Freund der Erde</i>. Deshalb ist im Roman viel Kritik an einer Zeit versteckt, die ihre kindischen Verklemmungen hinter der Maske totaler Freiheit zu verbergen suchte. Ansonsten aber ist Boyle ein überaus komplexer, wunderbar lesbarer und ironisch-skurriler Roman geglückt, der in seinen besten Passagen an <i>World's End</i> heranreicht. Große, leicht bekiffte Literatur. <i>--Stefan Kellerer</i>
With <I>Drop City</I>, TC 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, chastise outsiders while 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: <blockquote>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.</blockquote> Truly American in spirit, <I>Drop City</I> is a strong novel of freedom and the pursuit of liberty. <I>--Michael Ferch, Amazon.com</I>
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>