Travels With Lizbeth: Three Years on the Road and on the Streets

Rating:
Summary: Lars Eighner Homeless Once More
Review: Admirers of Eighner should be aware that he is once again homeless. A group of local Austin, Texas writers is creating a fund to help him pay rent on an apartment. If readers would like more information about how to contribute to this fund, they can contact Michael King, editor of the Texas Observer. As writer Arthur Bradford pointed out in a recent article about Lars, "he'll pay us back with a good story in the end."

Rating:
Summary: home is where the dog is
Review: Engaging and largely unsentimental account of being one of the itenerant homeless, with the added complication of having a dog. The author does not anthropomorphize Lizbeth which is the best decision he could make. Rather than a heartwarming story straight out of "Touched by An Angel" we get a complex picture of his world: the various hitchhikers, Good Samaritans, petty bureacrats and lost souls who, through reasons besides simple irresponsiblity, happen to find themselves on the streets. Luckily, the chronicle has a happy ending, but it feels earned and not fake.

Rating:
Summary: thought provoking
Review: For one thing, I love that the author includes his dog in is title and his descriptions. I actually found his relationship with his dog to be the most wonderful part of the book. It is amazing that he could maintain sanity in that sort of life. To sleep outside in the cold,and not have enough to eat would be a challenge for anyone, and would not tend to bring out the best in a person. I found the author's honesty to be extremely refreshing.

Rating:
Summary: A suprisingly engaging account of homelessness
Review: I don't often read non-fiction, but I was enchanted by Travels with Lizbeth by Lars Eighner. It's about three years in the life of a homeless man and his dog. Before being on the streets he was a writer/mental health worker (he wrote gay porn, among other things, to make money). His style is really remarkable-mannered and wry. It's as though he were educated at Oxford and one day found himself on the streets of Austin, TX without any prospects to speak of. His adventures are poignant, funny, tragic, and even occasionally sexy. You'll walk away with an appreciation for a category of homelessness, the situationally homeless, that often gets overlooked. We're always quick to categorize people on the streets as either: substance abusers, mentally ill, or simply homeless by choice. But some people just lose it. Eighner loses it, but ultimately makes the most of it. When I finished the book, I just wanted to send him money in case his luck had changed again.

Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly engaging account of homelessness
Review: I don't often read non-fiction, but I was enchanted by Travels with Lizbeth by Lars Eighner. It's about three years in the life of a homeless man and his dog. Before being on the streets he was a writer/mental health worker (he wrote gay porn, among other things, to make money). His style is really remarkable-mannered and wry. It's as though he were educated at Oxford and one day found himself on the streets of Austin, TX without any prospects to speak of. His adventures are poignant, funny, tragic, and even occasionally sexy. You'll walk away with an appreciation for a category of homelessness, the situationally homeless, that often gets overlooked. We're always quick to categorize people on the streets as either: substance abusers, mentally ill, or simply homeless by choice. But some people just lose it. Eighner loses it, but ultimately makes the most of it. When I finished the book, I just wanted to send him money in case his luck had changed again

Rating:
Summary: Was looking for a travel novel and got a lot more.
Review: I guess I was comming from the (reading Jack Kerouac) direction and was just looking for a good realistic travel novel. But what a surprise, what a story and a writer. I've read a lot of dissappointing "on the street" flavoured "I'm roughing it for the moment, while I write" tales obviously written from the security of a budget/career/home to go back to. This stuff is real, it sinks in that Lars does not have a way out and is in it for good, he is on no joy ride yet carries an incredible adventure. He is one of the most Human characters I have ever read. My opinion on homeless people has certainly changed. Unfortunately its going to be even harded to find any downbeat writing with any heart or street credibility after this.

Rating:
Summary: an entertaining, informative read
Review: I live in Austin and so I am familiar with a lot of the places mentioned in the book. Austin is currently (and was becoming at the time of publication) an economically prosperous city with it's much touted high-tec industries and growing affluence. Of course not everyone benefits from the growing economy and this book shows that there are some that do not benefit at all. The experiences of living on the streets of Austin and the southwest with a dog are told with great humor and wit. The fact that this book is very well written suggests that Lars Eighner doesn't fit the usual homeless stereotype of being ignorant, uneducated and useless to society. In fact in the book Eighner mentions having regular job before his circumstances changed. It does make one wonder how many other people are out there who go through similar experiences in life. anyway, this book is definitely worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: I purchased this book after reading the essay 'On Dumpster Diving' elsewhere. I found it to be enjoyable and honest; an account of homelessness by someone who was there, not a news anchor. As Eighner's main occupation is writing gay adult material, he included some rather 'personal' information in the book, which might put off a few readers

Rating:
Summary: easier than trying the lifestyle yourself
Review: If you aren't a gay homeless dog owner in Austin, Texas, then you are unlikely to ever live the experiences that Eighner so vividly describes. After you read this book, you will not feel the same about homelessness, our social welfare system, or materialism. I can't exactly guarantee that you will come to feel one particular way or another. But you will learn something.

Rating:
Summary: enlightening
Review: Lars Eighner does a spectacular job of storytelling: he is witty, descriptive, and thorough. It is not only a book about homelessness, but about materialism, transendentalsim, and the quirks of a society and government proclaiming itself "by the people and for the people" but without adequate welfare to support the people. However, this isn't a book to casually read to pass the time. It is a story, true, but it is also very much a informational document, and should be read not just for pleasure but for enlightenment on subjects that Lars knows so very well.