Call Someplace Paradise

Rating:
Summary: The Most Bizarre Parade of Characters I Have Ever Seen!
Review: Pat Hartman is probably the most underrated journalist in America. Her style is eloquent, her vocabulary enormous, and her razor-sharp wit carves startling insights out of ordinary events. There is nothing ordinary, however, about this chronicle of six years in Venice Beach. This book is a time capsule spanning America's transition from unchecked freedom to ugly conservatism. If you're looking for character studies for a novel, you'll find hundreds of them: transgender rollerskaters, cutthroat comedians, heartbreakingly homeless bag ladies, and a spleef of hippies slipping past their prime. Timothy Leary's best (and worst) acid trips pale by comparison. One caveat: Pat Hartman's greatest work is yet to come. This book is full intense bursts of immaculate writing. I can't wait to see her stretch out. Get a first edition of this book so you can tell your kids you were into Pat Hartman *before* she won the Pulitzer (and so you can tell them what the late '70s were like -- since you probably can't remember).

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing, insightful collection of vignettes
Review: This tribute to Venice, California will appeal to any who have a special interest in Southern California history and travel: Hartman's chapters cover 1978-84 and provide intimate first-person experiences and reflections on the culture and people she encounters in the area. An intriguing, insightful collection of vignettes.