A review by skitch41
Drop City by T.C. Boyle, Werner Richter

4.0

This is an interesting look at communal living and the (natural and unnatural) forces that can turn "brothers and sisters" into enemies. The idea of hippies picking up and moving to Alaska to try and live off the land is subtly inventive and laughable as well as perfect for describing how those trying to live for the moment, such as the hippie-citizens of Drop City, slide into a balance between the "straight" world and living among nature as they always wanted. Boyle certainly knows how to weave a good story as well a throw in a few new vocabulary words for a reader to look up in the dictionary. But what stops me from giving this five stars is that it takes a little time getting used to the hippies, and thus a little time getting into the book itself, who are so foul-mouthed and hypocritical in the beginning that it is hard to think of them as the "free love" hippies they claim to be. You don't really get to love them until the second half of the story when the Alaskan wilderness tests them. The Alaskan natives, particularly Sess and Pamela Harder, are far more endearing and loveable than the hippies are at times. Overall, an enjoyable read that I would recommend to people, but with a caveat added to it.