Customer Reviews
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient - By: Astrid, 13 May 2008 
I reallly enjoyed this book, it was unlike anything i'd ever read. It's told from main character Mary's point of view, as she meets a group of people who eat, breath, & bleed beat hipness. It's rather cultish I thought, but thats what made it disturbing, interesting, & "un-putdownable".
The concepts are interesting, & and writing is great. When Mary says she & her gang are the coolest bleedin' thing around, you believe every word. I found the unresolved issues reallly annoying though, like who Jack reallly was, & what happened to him in the end. When i realised the last paragraph didn't continue onto the next page, I almost screwed the last page up. It was infuriating, but I was impressed at the same time.
I spose that just illustrates Litt's talent further.
Good luck with this one, it makes you insatiable.
Superstar read - By: loobie lou, 17 Apr 2006 
i read this book orginallly at a fairly young age, discovered in my sister's room, i was 12 or 13 at the time. after a few years i re discoverd this super book & found it not to have changed one bit... the book reminded me of how this book captured my imagination when i was 12... though at 12 i didnt truely understand what i was reading. i think everyone should read this cleverly constructed book
a great idea wrecked by bad writing - By: , 02 Jul 2001 
Litt has taken a great topic & theme for a novel but has destroyed the magic of the Beat Generation. The characters are one dimensional, the narrative shakey, & the subplots idiotic. After a fanastic beginning describing the death of Dylan's 'folk' era the plot becomes tangled & shalllow. So much so that in the final chapters the protagonists trip to America doesn't seem to ring true. I would advise readers to stick to Kerouac & Ginsberg & experience the wonder of the Beat Generation for themselves.
Wierd man! - By: Mrs. K. A. Wheatley, 06 Apr 2001 I had to read this to find out who would set a book in Bedford & how it would come out! It manages to defy the dreariness of Bedford, which is good for a start. It is pacy & has a nice sense of foreboding which builds into dark menace as the book progresses. You just know things are not going to turn out well for idealist, obsessives who insist on maintaining a claustrophobic historical fiction as real life & worship Jack Kerouac. There are some deft twists of humour which lighten the load somewhat, but it's definitely not the feelgood hit of the decade if that's what you are looking for. If sharp & morbid is your bag, this is for you.
Addictive account of getting hip to the beat British style - By: , 01 Aug 2000 Initiallly attracted to this book due to its leopardskin cover, I was surprised to find that the story starts in sleepy Bedford.
The charcters are believable & oh so recognisable for alll of us who had a mis -spent youth.I guarantee you will recognise yourself in arrogant Jack, sweet sweet Neil, terrotorial Maggie or besotted Mary.
The book deserves to be a bestseller because a) Litt's attention to detail with history, scenery & chracterisation makes you feel like you're there b)the plot thickens unpredictably with every page turn & c)the characters (especiallly Jack) evolve from one dimensional stereotypes into complex people with complex reasons for the way they act.
This book is so rock & roll it's hard to believe it's based in the U.K. If you want Cool Britannia, read this, it's hip.
