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Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life And Times Of Richard Brautigan (2012)

by William Hjortsberg(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1582437904 (ISBN13: 9781582437903)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Counterpoint

review 1: OK, I did not read it all. It goes on and on feeling like cleaned up transcripts of god knows how many interviews, cut up, time-organized, but without ever getting at Brautigan. The book told stories about him, it did not try tell you who this guy really was. Not much psychology, here. Everyone thought Brautigan unknowable, so maybe this proves it.For me it was like rummaging through the life of someone who lived down the street many years ago, someone you did not know, but recognized every once in a while. And then you moved on and he did too. In fact, Brautigan did live down the street from me in San Francisco and we overlapped in times there. So the stories are more interesting to me than you, I bet. Also, the book documents (again) the beat and poetry scene in SF. It ... moretells publishing stories too: agents, writers, back-bitings, readings, groupies, small presses,big ones, too. OK to browse through for a day or two.
review 2: In the case of Brautigan you would presume that fiction is stranger than truth, but not so fast. Knowing very little about this once internationally celebrated poet and author, I endeavored to read this 800 plus biography. Once consider the last of the beats, Brautigan despised this label as well as a champion of hippiedom. The book starts off with gruesome details of his suicide by a magnum .45. Don't be put off however. The book goes own to document the extreme poverty and oppression he experienced growing up in the Pacific Northwest and his rise to fame and eventual down fall. It also documents the spirit and context of the times from his connection with Hollywood, San Francisco and the North Beach scene, Montana, Japan and his other international travels. Unavoidably you can't help getting bogged down at times in this four pound beast of a book, but overall excellent.n less

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