The California Book of the Dead by Tim Farrington

The California Book of the Dead

Tim Farrington

In this humorous debut, Farrington draws on his experience of living in ashrams and communes in California in the 1980s to bring readers a 1990s take on hippie life. His authentic dialog and lucid style perfectly suit the idiosyncratic characters, an intimate group of friends and housemates in a rambling San Francisco house, where ‘crystals dangled everywhere from dental floss.’ Immersed in their reality of Buddhist rituals, pagan praise to the Goddess, sandlewood candles, beads, and a variety of sexual partnering, they hurt and heal one another in search of spiritual enlightenment yet never take themselves too seriously. Lesbian Marlowe struggles with her art, patient lover Daa, and grief for her friend Jackson, ‘who slipped away on a wave of peace’ surrounded by chanting Buddhist monks. Farrington’s fresh use of language lifts this romantic comedy above stereotypical retrohip. Recommended.?Molly Gorman, San Marino, Cal.

Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Farrington’s quirky, lovable cast of characters, colorful souls careening around the California landscape, seems to cry out for a miniseries like, say, Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Marlowe, half of a devoted lesbian couple, is an artist obsessively painting a series of mopheads while she grieves the loss of her friend and soul mate, Jackson, to AIDS. Her lover, Daa, a transplant from the Midwest, is a kind of earth mother, ready to forgive almost anything, even Marlowe’s unexpected pregnancy by their boarder, a New Age massage therapist who also seduces Marlowe’s innocent cousin from the South, who has made her way to Lotus Land in search of spiritual inspiration–etc., etc.–you get the idea. This gentle, affectionately satirical look at the rituals often associated with California and at those who, seeking alternatives in salvation, are drawn to the West Coast, is one enjoyable book. Whitney Scott –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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