Customer Reviews

Call Someplace Paradise

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Pat Hartman may be the best undiscovered writer in America. This could all change with the recent publication of her two new books about her experiences living in Venice from 1978-1984. GHOST TOWN is about her private life, her home life in the Oakwood ghetto of Venice. CALL SOMEPLACE PARADISE focuses on the public side of her life in Venice. All the legendary Venice street freaks are here, such as Swami X, the mad street sage of the Venice boardwalk. All the characters are brought to life with Hartman's lively pen and wry sense of humor. A lot of books have been written about the Haight Ashbury in the 60s and all that stuff. But Venice during the late 70s, early 80s may have been the peak flowering of America's bohemian counterculture. All the 60s hippie-types are still going strong, with the 70s punks chomping at the bit adding new life to the scene. Check this book out, soon to be a classic bit of Americana.

This tribute to Venice, California will appeal to any who have a special interest in Southern California history and travel: Hartman's chapters cover 1978-84 and provide intimate first-person experiences and reflections on the culture and people she encounters in the area. An intriguing, insightful collection of vignettes.

Pat Hartman is probably the most underrated journalist in America. Her style is eloquent, her vocabulary enormous, and her razor-sharp wit carves startling insights out of ordinary events. There is nothing ordinary, however, about this chronicle of six years in Venice Beach. This book is a time capsule spanning America's transition from unchecked freedom to ugly conservatism. If you're looking for character studies for a novel, you'll find hundreds of them: transgender rollerskaters, cutthroat comedians, heartbreakingly homeless bag ladies, and a spleef of hippies slipping past their prime. Timothy Leary's best (and worst) acid trips pale by comparison. One caveat: Pat Hartman's greatest work is yet to come. This book is full intense bursts of immaculate writing. I can't wait to see her stretch out. Get a first edition of this book so you can tell your kids you were into Pat Hartman *before* she won the Pulitzer (and so you can tell them what the late '70s were like -- since you probably can't remember).

Pat Hartman is probably the most underrated journalist in America. Her style is eloquent, her vocabulary enormous, and her razor-sharp wit carves startling insights out of ordinary events. There is nothing ordinary, however, about this chronicle of six years in Venice Beach. This book is a time capsule spanning America's transition from unchecked freedom to ugly conservatism. If you're looking for character studies for a novel, you'll find hundreds of them: transgender rollerskaters, cutthroat comedians, heartbreakingly homeless bag ladies, and a spleef of hippies slipping past their prime. Timothy Leary's best (and worst) acid trips pale by comparison. One caveat: Pat Hartman's greatest work is yet to come. This book is full intense bursts of immaculate writing. I can't wait to see her stretch out. Get a first edition of this book so you can tell your kids you were into Pat Hartman *before* she won the Pulitzer (and so you can tell them what the late '70s were like -- since you probably can't remember).