Carsick

October 15, 2014

Two tedious novellas open this book, which concerns Waters's (Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters) 2012 Baltimore-to-San Francisco hitchhiking trip. One novella imagines a dozen or so fantastically good rides replete with sexual promise and fulfilled peccadillos; the other contains "bad" ones. Though presented under a veil of friendliness, they are typical Waters fare--weird, raunchy, and peppered with characters and lines from his movies that serve little purpose. The remainder chronicles Waters's actual trip and, unlike the first two thirds in which he is trying very hard to get his own rocks off, here his conversations with regular people prove him witty, intelligent, and a good listener. Few sparks fly, however, because the liberal Waters isn't terribly challenged by most of the nice folks who pick him up. As narrator, Waters proves frenetic and capable of drawing in listeners; no one could do it better. VERDICT The author's reputation and driven-to-shock persona prove his undoing. The fictional sections are too outre for some, too tame for others, while the travelog proves him the loveliest of American renegades. ["A rollicking, raunchy romp that delivers big-time laughs. For open-minded travel-journal fans and pop/trash culture addicts," read the review of the Farrar hc, LJ 5/15/14.]--Douglas C. Lord, New Britain P.L., CT

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 28, 2014
The illustrious director of Hairspray, Cry Baby, and Pink Flamingoes embarked on a cross-country hitchhiking journey in 2012. This, Waters’s seventh book, is a travelogue of his experiences bumming rides all the way from his home in Baltimore to his apartment in San Francisco. Waters idiosyncratically cuts to the core of American diversity, finding the good (and bad) in any situation with biting wit. The unlikely friendship Waters forms with a young Republican politician is an unexpected twist, and a timely tale of bromance in the midst of hardship. If a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and the pope of Trash can have an adventure in Reno together, aren’t all things still possible in this world? But for Waters aficionados, the best parts of this enchanting narrative aren’t the ones that actually happened. Fans will delight in the two novellas, with Waters at his campiest and most ludicrous, that precede the nonfiction third act. Presenting the best- and worst-case scenarios for modern hitchhiking as only Waters can, the narratives range from encounters with a pleasant group of marijuana smugglers and Edith Massey, to a harrowing imprisonment in Kansas and traumatic fan meeting. Waters devotees take note: this is required reading. Agent: Bill Clegg, William Morris Endeavor.