In the heart of San Francisco's Mission District, an eclectic and dazzling cast of characters gather in a house share. Burning off their pasts to reinvent themselves in California, here is a lovably unusual and richly drawn group of friends: Marlowe, a political lesbian ripe for a radical life change; Daa, her devoted lover, ever willing to forgive; a stubbornly heterosexual male massage therapist; Sheba, a clueless innocent in paradise; Dante, the gentle troubador who specialises in unrequited romance, and Vic, primed for lessons in love, San Franscisco-style. THE CALIFORNIA BOOK OF THE DEAD follows their lives as they grapple with love and liberation, substance and soul in a landscape where nothing is what it seems. In a land of spiritual soirees, sexual bonding, and pagan and Buddhist ritual gatherings, they play out their destinies as the rude realities of life and death intervene. Tim Farrington's phenomenal debut novel illuminates our times with loving accuracy, unfurling a story both magical and true.
Industry Reviews
Described as a Tales of the City for the 1990s, The California Book of the Dead is an engaging, well-written story of a group of people whose lives intertwine in present-day San Francisco - the New Age capital of America. They have all arrived in search of some sort of fufillment and the plethora of New Age therapies which surround them are used to find answers. The author presents a group of diverse and convincing personalities, describing directly and humourously, the characters' dissatisfaction with their lot and their desperate need to 'become whole.' Particularly likeable are Marlowe, a psychic artist and political lesbian who battles with her attraction towards men and Scorich, who even through disillusionment with his Tibetan teacher, is still determined to become a monk. This novel is warm and compassionate and full of wisdom available to those who are willing to read between the lines. (Kirkus UK)