Vacation (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Black Tide, Bernard Johnson, Marvin Blackrow (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Vacation irresistably reminds the reader of Chuck Palahniuk's acerbic social commentary, but with less gore and more science fiction trappings. -- The Harrow, Vol. 10, #5 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

It's time for blueblood Bernard Johnson to leave his boring life behind and go on The Vacation, a yearlong corporate-sponsored odyssey. But instead of seeing the world, Bernard is captured by terrorists, becomes a key figure in secret drug wars, and, worse, doesn't once miss his secure American Dream.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Raw Dog Screaming Press (April 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933293411
• ISBN-13: 978-1933293417
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #916,665 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked Good Fun, March 27, 2007

By	Jesse Gordon "Professional Thoughtsman" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Vacation (Hardcover)

The world has, since the inception - intentional or otherwise - of humankind, always been a dubious plane of existence. You'd be hard-pressed to find an author, poet, artist, musician, politician, holy man, or everyman who has never spoken out concerning the human condition, from the tiniest fib to the most horrific act of genocide. Newspaper columnists, Sunday preachers, eastern philosophers all dissect the meaning of life in their various fashions - but Jeremy Shipp's Vacation, a first-person tour de force that takes place in an alternate universe and / or future-in-the-making, actually takes the human condition and turns it inside out.

On the surface, Vacation is about a disgruntled English teacher named Bernard Johnson who goes on Vacation (yes, proper capitalization) with an ex-student, once-male, now-female friend and discovers the world is not what he initially thought it to be.

Okay. Simple enough premise - you see it all the time in various forms of literature (well, maybe without the sex change). Peel away that superficial layer, though, and you soon find yourself entangled in a labyrinth of spiritual testing and social commentary unflinchingly portrayed by Shipp's characters. In this world, society exists in two major flavors: the Tics and the Meeks, the former being the well-to-dos of the industrialized nations, the latter being the poor, the exiled. Using this metaphor, it quickly becomes obvious the Tics are our own pop culture, the pill-popping, credit-card-wielding, overfed, and over-stimulated masses who have been shielded from the terrible truths of the world in a sort of global propaganda scheme to bolster big business. The Meeks are, well, everyone else - a grassroots conglomerate of militants who have cleansed their bodies and minds of all social poisons. Somewhere in between is the Garden, an external haven lead by Noh, who seeks to seed truth back into the world, one mind at a time.

Bernard's adventure plays out in the classic escapist fashion - on crack. Indeed, much of his transformation has to do with the altering of his mind, the skewering of his perspective, so that he may glimpse the dream he's been living from the outside. He goes on Vacation, falls in love, becomes a tool for the Meeks, and ultimately helps to realize Noh's vision of social revolution - but don't expect any of this to be A-B-C, for the strength of Shipp's narrative lies in his ability to toss the ball to his characters and trust that their decisions, their reactions will guide the story true. The underlying meaning is present throughout, but it is quite obvious from the start that you, the reader, are just as responsible as Bernard in coming to your own conclusions.

Shipp's style in Vacation demands an agile approach, as various scenes shift seamlessly between dreams and reality - often without warning. I'm reminded of S.P. Somtow's Riverrun Trilogy: one quarter real, three quarters surreal. Considering the concept, I can't imagine it any other way.

Vacation is a potent social theory, a spiritual hopscotch from start to finish. With interesting scenarios and thought-provoking dialog, it is a compelling reason for fans of psychological fantasy to look up Jeremy Shipp.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vacation a serious but worthwhile read, June 24, 2007

By	Courtney B. Sachse "slayer730" (York, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It had been quite some time since I had read something I would classify as "sit down literature". Turn off the tv, settle in, focus, and crack open Vacation.

Vacation challenged me in many ways. It forced me to re-evaluate the actions I take in my daily life as well as how they impact the world at large. It made me consider the person I'm supposed to be versus the person I am. I will admit, there were sections where I was confused. But then you have a revelation: about the plot or about your own life - both worthwhile.

Vacation is an interesting and engaging story taken at face value. But for those of you who enjoy delving a bit deeper into a book (or into yourself), this is a great read.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vacation by Jeremy C. Shipp, June 2, 2007

By	Kristina M. Darling (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jeremy C. Shipp's debut novel, Vacation, delivers a healthy dose of humor while raising serious questions about the day-to-day life of most Americans. Filled with social criticism and slapstick, the story begins by revealing Bernard Johnson's boredom with his mundane life, which seems similar enough to that of most people, complete with a good job, a loveless relationship, and antidepressants. When Bernard decides to take his Vacation, a year long tour of the world provided to every U.S. citizen, he is kidnapped by terrorists and realizes just how discontented he was with the "American Dream," which he doesn't miss for a minute.



Shipp's use of everyday things in creating his strange and frightening dystopia is highly effective. The world of Vacation disconcerts the reader with its eerie similarities to his or her own comfortable life, particularly when things like schools, prescriptions, and time off work form a frightening underworld of which even some of the characters aren't aware. Shipp writes, for example: "It's not only the pharmaceutical companies that benefit from poisoned bodies, its every commercial entity. A healthy body is less likely to succumb to compulsion" (49). Displaying the dark side of the American dream to readers, Shipp's satire is imaginative and provocative.



Although the novel is at times dark and disconcerting, the fact that it's written in the first person as a letter to Bernard's parents renders the story heartbreaking and moving. The reader anticipates Bernard's parents' reaction to some of the events described in the novel, and the epistolary form in which this book is written adds additional layers of humor and pathos to the narrative. Shipp writes at the start of the novel, for example: "So this letter. It's not an apology. Not even an explanation as to why your son has abandoned the only home he's ever known [...] I need these words to vacate me, so that I can get on with my life. So that I can say goodbye" (6). References like this appear at key moments in the book, and this bittersweet motif gives the narrative formal unity. Mixing fun, social issues, and heartache, Shipp's novel is a well-rounded and entertaining read.



Also rife with literary allusions to such well-known works as Mrs. Dalloway, Frankenstein, and Don Quixote, Jeremy Shipp's novel is a literate, erudite read. These references fit Bernard's character because he teaches English, but they also provide well-read humor and showcase the author's knowledge of the classics. Shipp writes, for example: "This is Don Quixote's psyche. This is TS Eliot's Wasteland library. This is Mrs. Dalloway's party, if she were really Virginia Woolf. This is Noh's room. Towers of books and notebooks clutter every available surface" (49). These literary comparisons form a consistent motif throughout the book, and, like the references to Bernard's parents, give the book a sense of formal unity.



Overall, Vacation is a diverse, unpredictable, and intelligent read. Two thumbs up!