Boyle, T. C. Drop City: T.C. Boyle

'One of the funniest, most subtle novels we've had about the hippy era's slow fade to black ... this may be his most affecting emotionally complex novel' (New York Times Book Review) Star has travelled to Drop City - forty-seven sun-washed acres of commune in California - to be free from her home, from society's constraints, and to feel part of something important. But she starts to suspect that free love was invented by some spotty dude who couldn't get laid any other way, and that chilled out means lazy. And as for peace-living, there seems to be an ugly undercurrent of violence. Then, when rape charges are brought and the police threaten to close down Drop City, the hippies decamp to the wilds of Alaska where they intend to live off the land. But instead the community runs into trouble, unexpected friendships are made and dangerous enemies are born.