A review of Beer And Loathing In Panama City.

February 27th, 2009 by cbwilkins | Posted in Picture blog |

So a week or so ago, I told you about my friend Keith Strausbaugh’s book, Beer And Loathing In Panama City: A Bloodthirsty Spring Break Exodus. Here’s the cover again, because, well, it’s a pretty cool cover:

I told Keith I’d do a review of the book for Amazon, and I figured I’d try it out on here before putting it over there. So here goes:

Part memoir, part how-to, part parental advisory, Beer And Loathing In Panama City takes the stereotypical Spring Break journey and turns it into a harsh satire of the party lifestyle. Through the use of some of the more imaginative metaphor in recent memory, Strausbaugh deftly takes his characters from wide-eyed virgin Spring Breakers to crusted, bitter veterans of too many Ladies Nights and vaguely pornographic public displays. But, his most poignant success as writer is evident in his unyielding mastery of honesty. At times harsh, even petty, Strausbaugh is always honest, about his fellow Spring Breakers, about society in general, and, most of all, about himself. In the hands of a less adept writer, this story would be nothing more than a typical tale of drunken debauchery, yet Strausbaugh is able to elevate it to the level of satire, and, what’s more, to the level of literature.

Seriously, I enjoyed the hell out of his book. Go buy it here: .