Rating: 
Summary: He does it again
Review: T.C. Boyle comes through once again with a complex tale, full of insight, twists and turns, great writing, and overall satisfaction. The guy hasn't written a bad thing yet and my only complaint is that he hasn't turned out more jewels like this one. But then, I suppose he's into quality, not quantity. Suffice it to say that I'm a major Boyle fan and this is my favorite so far. Also recommended: Even Cowgirls get the Blues by Robbins and Bark of the Dogwood by McCrae
Rating: 
Summary: Lots-o-hippies, very little plot!
Review:
Hmmmm...Have you ever wondered what would happen if a commune of hippies wore out their welcome in California and made an ill-advised decision to move to the backwoods of Alaska where nobody would bother them? Me neither. But if you read this book you'll find out. I found the characters and their interactions interesting and enjoyed the writing style. And not knowing much about hippies (before my time) I found the ebb and flow of communal life fascinating. As for plot, - well there were a few loose plotlines, none of which seemed to be more important than any other. And most of them went unresolved, possibly because the book ended in what any ordinary reader would think was the middle of the story, - almost as if the author lost interest half way through and decided to write a ten-page wrap up and move on to his next book. But even though the plotlines seemed fairly inconsequential, I zipped through this story quickly and enjoyed it.
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Rating:
Summary: Great story, great characters, but an abrupt ending
Review: I promise not to give away the ending. But I will say that the one thing I did not like about this book is the way that the final 4 or 5 chapters bring everything to such an abrupt conclusion. The book begins with masterful character development, a wry sense of humor, and a slow progression of plot. It ends with very little character study, no more humor, and story line conclusions that seem rushed and unfulfilling. That said, the book is still fantastic. It is one of the few books about the "hippie generation" that manages to convey the zeitgeist of the 70s without any of the silly nostalgia that plagues so much late 20th / early 21st century writing about the 60s and 70s. It also manages to beautifully interleave two very different versions of what it's like to "live off of the land" into a really great story. I loved this book. I only wish that Mr. Boyle had put as much effort into the nuances of the last 30% as he did into the first 70%.
Rating:
Summary: Trust me
Review: Drop City is a good book. I'm going to ask to be trusted on that, because -- try as I might -- I can't find a way to describe it and make it sound as good as it is. Of course, that may be part of the attraction of this soulful, entertaining, and rewarding novel, the fact that its value cannot be easily identified and named. Certainly it wasn't the subject matter that captured me. Born in the mid-1960s, I'm of the generation old enough to remember the Summer of Love, tie-die tee-shirts, and flower-painted VW vans, but not old enough to have been part of the era they are identified with. And even since then, when some aspect of those days rides into vogue on a wave of nostalgia, the period has seemed interesting to me only in the most general terms. But T. Coraghessan Boyle's important new novel is about the details: a 1970s California commune burning out a step or two faster than the hippie movement as a whole. The story has the obligatory bad LSD trip, and the predictable complaints about free love. But instead of becoming a cliché, it manages to reveal the ugly (and smelly) realities of commune life while drawing the reader in with something other than the kind of curiosity that makes people stare at car accidents. The prose is fast-paced, easy to read, and at times very funny, while also exposing a surprising level of human complexity and societal insight. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise. As anyone who has read World's End knows, Mr. Boyle is one of contemporary literature's best pure storytellers, and he's returned to his former heights here. Trust me on that.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best work
Review: I'm a huge T.C. Boyle fan - loved The Road To Wellville and consider him to be one of the best short-story writers in the business. But I was rather disappointed with Drop City. It's not a bad book, but it falls short of what every fan knows to be Boyle's true potential. The premise and plot are promising. A group of hippies is forced off their California commune and naively journeys north to Alaska to live off the land. There they encounter a group of locals who are well-accustomed to the harsh winters and rugged living, and not at all eager to have new neighbors. It's a good recipe to start from, and the characters are well-drawn and quirky in a way that is distinctly Boyle. But the writing itself is lame. It's as if Boyle dumbed it down to appeal to a lower common denominator of readers. Or maybe he just didn't try as hard with this one. In any event, the result is a book that is good pop fiction but not really literature, and that's disappointing for a writer of his stature.
Rating:
Summary: Simply a good book
Review: Having never read any of the authors other work, the "unique" cover design caught my attention. Simply a very entertaining, humerous, good book. Not quite an "I can't put it down" but a good "snuggle up with a good cup of tea" type book. Enjoyed it very much.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing. Boyle is capable of better.
Review: Ambrose Bierce once wrote that a novel is "a short story, padded." That's as fair a description of Drop City as any. TC Boyle creates flawless short stories - wonderful yarns, warmly, taughtly and beautifully written. But that extraordinary control is not in evidence here. The novel is moderately entertaining, and it is something of a page turner; that the book will end on a tragic note is telegraphed almost from the first page, which affords the reader the macabre intrigue of trying to figure out who's gonna get it and how. But that's not much of a frame upon which to hang a novel this fat. Boyle seems to hold most of his characters in positions ranging somewhere between disdain and contempt. I really didn't want to hang out with these people. Stripped to the bones, the book is really about self-absorbtion and the problems that causes. Fair enough, but 400+ pages of exposition on navel gazing in a hostile environment is a bit much for this reader. There are also some minor but annoying continuity errors. For example, references to well-known rock artists are sprinkled fairly frequently through the tale; some of these artists actually emerged AFTER the time period described. A minor quibble, perhaps, and most readers probably won't notice it (or care). But for me, it does underscore that Boyle wasn't on top of his game here. Given the quality of Boyle's short stories - he's one of the best - I expected an awful lot more from Drop City. It's not awful, mind you; many readers will enjoy it and hopefully, Boyle's next will be better. Still, this is the first Boyle novel I've read, and I'm in no hurry to plunge into another. I'd prefer to stick to his other work.
Rating:
Summary: Nah, could have been better................
Review: Just finished it and frankly couldn't wait to be done with it. It has some nice descriptions of times and places in the hippie tradition but, the characters were not too memorable. There were too many charcters. Should have just focused on a few of them. They were not compelling either. I couldn't have cared lees if they all froze to death there in Alsaka. Ending needs work too.
Rating:
Summary: Its alright
Review: This book is ok. i bought in on request of my friend who said it was great..you will only like it if you have a general appreciation for literature. it has no action, but halfway redeems itself with good writing and a mildly interesting plot...it becomes rather tedious reading it, and often repetitive.
Rating:
Summary: It's hard to be humane in unhuman conditions
Review: An excellent perfectly told story. But what is it about ? A hippy commune in California is under the menace of being ousted by the local court and the sheriff. They move to Alaska, to extreme conditions of survival. This brings out the psychology of every character and it is not very flattering for some. Extreme survival conditions reveal the hidden face of each one of them and some of these revelations are absolutely devilish. They are also set in parallel with a young couple that makes it a real trade and adventure to survive in the best conditions and yet without getting into extreme hatred or survival strife with their neighbors. This couple is like the measuring rod to evaluate the hippies. The book reveals that you need to be particularly hard working in such condittions and this reveals those who are hippies to escape any discipline. They become parasites and very fast they start living on the back of the others, without working really and going as far as stealing, and then they drop out before being rejected. Then you have those who cannot bear anything slightly hard and these will eventually drop out. Here there is a touch that bothers me : one of these is a black man, the only black man who manages to follow the commune to Alaska. It reveals open racism among the locals there but it also contains, symbolically, a racist rejection of the character and since he is the only black he becomes the representative of his racial group and that verges onto symbolical racism. Finally you have those who are going to prefer some sentimental attachment to the hardship of living through the Alaskan winter and night. This is the case of the « guru » who owns the land and leads the others to Alaska but he leaves before the winter arguing that his girlfriend, who is no hard-struggling group-minded survivor, is sick. Extreme conditions are the revealing touchstone for all of them and few are those who will go through the adventure and the hard works it entails. Pessimistic in a way, it is also optimistic by the simple conclusion that in such conditions some will be able to cope and some will not be able to cope. Hippyism is easy in California, an easy way to live on the back of others, particularly on the women's back (if I can say so) concerning the men, but this parasitism leads to plain antisocial attitudes or dropping out back to society for some of them. The book is in a way an illustration that humanity needs a challenge, needs extreme conditions to reveal itself, but it is not clear about the fact that some of the survivors will survive on the bodies of many victims of their pushing. Enjoy the book. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
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