DROP CITY (2003) by T.C. Boyle

Taking its name from a real 1960's artist community called Drop City, T.C. Boyles 2003 work reminds me of The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Tests by Tom Wolfe, one of my favorite books. Unlike the Merry Pranksters of the "Acid Tests," the denizens of Drop City seem mainly interested in Free Love and drug use but without any over riding ethos (other then to get really high). Conflict brews in this environment and eventually the commune picks up and moves to the Alaskan wilderness. Here the the laid back vide gives way to a struggle to survive the harsh Alaskan environment. I enjoyed this book as it gives a more complex look of counterculture life when reality began to chip away at the utopian dream.