Customer Reviews
Ah Halcyon daze. - By: K. C. Simm, 13 Feb 2007 
When I was a hippy backin the late sixties, early seventies & at Art college this together with the rest of his books & such stalwarts of that generation as Herman Hesse & Timothy Leary, Oz, IT & Gandalfs Garden where required reading. Or attempted readingin the case of Oz. Some of you will know what I mean. Whatever happened to all those?
However Brautigan... after beingin the outlands of unfashion for sometime, this writers work seems to have had something of a Rennaisance , & about time is all I can say. Although Confederate General is a definite period piece it still has relevance & is no less important today as say Kerouac. His writing is deceptively simple & he gives the impression that he is telling fables but his work &in particular A Confederate General is all the more accessable for that. Read this if you feel that nostalgia ain't what it used to be & you enjoy a good fable.
"Campbell's Soup!!!" - By: Jason Parkes, 11 Jul 2002 Looking for something brief to distract me from my not very riveting dissertation & flicking through an old copy of UNCUT, I came across the dependable reviews of recent author Nick Johnstone. Being a fan of Rebel Inc Press- such books as 'Ask the Dust', 'The Sinaloa Story', 'Ringolevio', 'Snowblind' & 'Stone Junction' I knew it had to be one of theirs I hadn;t read. I settled on this & 'Wait for Spring...' by John Fante (which I've yet to read). Thought I'd go with this one first, as the intro by Duncan MacLean is as great as all Rebel Inc intros & Johnstone's review pitched it on the same level as Kerouac's 'Big Sur' (his best work apart from 'Lonesome Traveler' & his Wolfe tribute 'The Town & The City') & the lyrics to Mark Eitzel's 'Wild Sea' (from '60 Watt Silver Lining'). MacLean also statesin his introduction that it is hard to reconcile Brautigan's suicide with the bursting full of laugh & outright hilarious prose here. He's right.
The chapters are short & superb- anyone who liked Douglas Coupland's 'Life After God' will love this book. It tells us about Jesse & Lee- & their adventures that lead them to bars, to a Chinese dentist's flat & to Big Sur. That's where the frogs & alligators & teens & girls & tobacco & a whole lot more comes in.
I'll be heading for the Brautigan section soon to get the rest of his books. Rebel Inc have published another masterpiece that isn't heavily marketed f-grade Bret Easton Ellis ('Twelve') or d-standard Rushdie (who I think is appalling anyway)- 'White Teeth'. Hope they could publish Denis Johnson's 'Angels' or Rick Moody's 'Garden State'- both seemingly out of print. This is one book that you really must read etc etc- I'd rather be with Jesse & Leein Big Sur than watching those twats on 'Big Brother'. Remember kids, use your time constructively. Me?- I'm out with the alligators...
Read this, then read everything else by RB - By: B. Towell, 09 May 2002 Possibly Brautigan's most famous work, Confed Gen is a delightful introduction to one of America's finest writers. The wit & melancholy of his writing is hard to beat, & the wonderful style & energy of his so carefully constructed work invites reading of certain passages & metaphoric prose over & over. Buy this book. You will be astonished & delighted. Read his other works & you will be left with a sense of wonder & dismay that he is no longer with us. Then buy his daughter Ianthe's book about Richard - You can't catch death. It's the closest you'll get to getting to know the great man, & why there were bullet holes around the kitchen clock.
Change Your Life And READ THIS! - By: , 27 Jun 2000 This is one of the most outstanding novels to come out of the 50's/60's US counter cultures. Brautigan's honed down & poetic prose is a delight. This book really deserves more recognition for the influence it has had over a generation of writers.
For me it contains many truths about life & how to live it.
