"Youth is truth."
I thought I'd start my literary adventure with my very favorite. The summer before my freshman year of college, my dad handed me a copy of this book. He told me that it was his favorite book growing up and he wanted to share it with me. I read it once, and then I read it again. It's one of my favorite books to this day.
This is the story of six disillusioned young people from various walks of life in the 1970's. Joe is a California draft-dodger who is trying to keep his morals and his life. Britta is a beautiful Norwegian girl, escaping from the long tunnel of night that the Northern winters bring. She's looking for a better life for herself that is focused on the warmth of the Southern hemisphere. Monica, the most troubled and troubling of the youths, is a British girl who takes everything and everyone for granted, including the only people who have ever cared for her and taken care of her. Cato is a black man who is escaping an inevitable life of terrorism and poverty. He has gotten himself into trouble in the States and is looking for a way out of his life. Yigal is a boy struggling with his national identity. He is a citizen of the struggling country of Israel and the monster of America. He is trying to reconcile his love for his homeland with the certain security that the US holds. Gretchen, far and away my favorite character, is a proud democratic supporter who has run into some trouble with the law. She wants to find herself, find the American dream and her life's work overseas. These are the main characters that make up the bulk of the novel.
There are also two supporting characters who lend a great deal of perspective to the novel. The narrator, Uncle George, is an older man who has a stake in the lives of all of the main characters. He is the one who introduces us to the kids and delineates their adventures. The other supporting character is Harvey Holt, a tech rep. He brings the perspective of an older generation and also lends a hand to the kids and becomes a father/older brother figure for many of the boys.
The first six chapters consist of intimate backgrounds on each of the main characters. Each section concludes with the character arriving in Torremolinos, Spain. Torremolinos is where the real action begins. The kids come together as a group and realize their ambitions to see the world and be free of the things that limit them. Their travels take them through Algarve, Portugal; Pamplona, Spain, Mocambique Island, Mocambique; and Marrakech, Morroco.
The travels that the group goes on exacerbates many of the problems that are present in this time period. Yigal is struggling with his identity, constantly on the verge of not being able to decide what he wants and when he wants it. Monica is a full fledged drug addict that doesn't care to stop using drugs, even as she is wasting away.
The relationships are also something that is central to the novel. Monica and Cato's troubled, consuming love that is the obsession of one and the infinite shame of the other. Yigal's unrequited love for the beautiful Britta. Britta's surprising love for the tough skinned and tough hearted Harvey Holt. Joe and Gretchen's comfortable casual love that makes the others look like fools.
Relationships are central and the driving force of the novel. They make everything possible. I think that's why I enjoyed and enjoy it so much. Relationships are a crucial part of life and they mold and shape us. Everything is possible, everywhere.
"The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality."
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