50,000 Watts of Jazz From Fargo :

Rating:
Summary: A Long Strange Trip
Review: Mr. Rundquist captures some quintessential Americana in his new book. His 'sketches' of the interesting places visited by the denizens of the VW Bus are first-rate. I was ready to pitch everything and hit the road (again). Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Brautigan Revisited, or Trout Fishing in the Slipstream
Review: Sometimes a book can be outstanding despite, or because of, the author wearing his influences on his sleeve. Such is the case with "50,000 Watts of Jazz From Fargo," the second published novel by Tim Rundquist, which borrows heavily from the tradition of Richard Brautigan but nonetheless succeeds in "adding something new to the lexicon of great American drivers and passengers." Set in the mid 1980's, the book begins as two recent college graduates set off from California on a directionless, 60's-style journey across the American hinterlands, in search of nothing more tangible than "the view inside the maple syrup bottle." And, as Brautigan's alter ego seemed to encounter a trout stream at the foot of many of his adventures, the two young men, and later a third, prevail in seeking out, at nearly every turn, the "elusive radio waves" that clue them in to the constancies of heartland America.
The book, too, succeeds on a variety of fronts, from capturing small-town essences to detailing the thoughts and issues, profound and otherwise, crossing a young person's mind at that certain "exploratory" phase of life. Of particular interest are the segments detailing the boys' sojourn in the Florida Keys, as well as their wintertime visit, unheated Volkswagen and all, to northern Minnesota. Ultimately, "50,000 Watts" not only takes the reader to a lot of interesting, out-of-the-way places, but makes the trip enjoyable and worthwhile.