Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America

Name: Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America
SKU: 69679
Availability: InStock

4 | 1,125 ratings

Price: 13.12

Last update: 06-24-2024

About this item

A cross-country hitchhiking journey with America’s most beloved weirdo.

John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads "I’m Not Psycho", he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash?

Before he leaves for this bizarre adventure, Waters fantasizes about the best and worst possible scenarios: A friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road? His real-life rides include a gentle 81-year-old farmer who is convinced Waters is a hobo, an indie band on tour, and the perverse filmmaker’s unexpected hero: A young, sandy-haired Republican in a Corvette.

Laced with subversive humor and warm intelligence, Carsick is an unforgettable vacation with a wickedly funny companion - and a celebration of America’s weird, astonishing, and generous citizenry.

Stephanie

Fresh, filled with Waters's unique voice

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2014

This is the most pleasurable read I've had in a long time (probably since finishing "Shock Value," come to think of it). It's a clever mix of two novellas and memoir and the fresh structure is a huge draw. The fiction is lively and creative. The memoir follows Waters's style from "Role Models" and "Crackpot."

The fiction echoes Waters's early film writing so if his humor and style aren't your cup of tea, you might have a bad time. It is fantastical, witty, and completely lacking in morality and taste. Exactly what one would expect from Waters. I found the chapter where he's picked up by "Miss Edie" equally hilarious and moving, knowing her public persona and having heard/read Waters's stories about her. That's the way to remember a friend.

The one-star reviews (which I'm sure delight Waters to no end) remind me of his bit from his "vaudeville" "This Filthy World" where he tells the tale of a family going out to the video store and saying "We loved 'Hairspray.' Let's get another John Waters movie" and they bring home "Pink Flamingos," are appalled, return it, and head to the media to complain about the singing body parts.

Waters fans will love it. Fans of bizarro fiction will adore it. People will create a Hipster Circus somewhere. Those looking for a quiet, heartwarming snapshot of America to read on the beach might be better off looking for shells. Just watch out for the eyebrow crabs.

Fledge

Quick and Breezy Summer Read

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2014

Let me say from the start that I'm not a huge fan of John Waters' films. I don't hate them, they're just not my thing. John Waters the celebrity, on the other hand, I enjoy very much! In this book you get to spend a lot of quality time with John the celebrity juxtaposed against average Americans from the middle of the country. It's pretty damn entertaining!

The book is divided into three parts: The Best That Could Happen, The Worst That Could Happen and The Real Thing. The first two sections are obviously fiction (I'm amazed at some of the negative reviews that thought that these were presented as fact, when they're way, way over the top and clearly labelled as fiction) and it becomes immediately apparent that John knows that fame is a two-edged sword. If he enjoys basking in the glow of being famous and being adored for it, he is also aware that there are many that dislike him for that status as well. The first two sections were laugh out loud funny. The level of absurdity in each section was a treat! A little warning, though, there are a lot of sexually explicit descriptions in these two parts of the book. If you're sensitive about such issues, then you best stay clear! The third section is what actually occurred and while I enjoyed it, it just didn't match the narrative tension of the first two parts of the book, which is kinda how reality and fiction work in the real world. There were no prolonged four plus hour waits at highway on-ramps in either of his fictional accounts. Tedium is generally edited out of fiction.

So the last third of the book downshifts and takes a decidedly slower pace, but I still enjoyed it. John is a worrywort, but generally an optimist. I don't know that I learned anything new about America, but it was awfully fun to read his take of it. His firsts include riding in the cab of a semi, going to an Applebee's and eating at Taco Bell. Most of the people that pick him up are mildly entertaining with mildly interesting back stories, but that's to be expected, because they're not celebrities. He is treated with random kindness several times, when people don't recognize him and think that he's just an old man down on his luck. Overall, he is treated well and comes away with a good feeling about his travels. It's a good country after all, John Waters!

Arthur Zifarelli

Review Needed

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2014

I have only read the introduction and a few pages of the first chapter, and I'm already delighted with this book. I felt a need to post a five star review. I almost didn't buy this book because of the three and a half star rating at present. The eight one star reviewers of the book seem to mostly be trolls. Nevermind them. Consider that most of these trolls don't even know to capitalize the titles of their reviews. I will agree that some people may not have a taste for John Waters' films and books. You don't see me going around bashing Harry Potter books and James Patterson. I think they're crap. I don't generally write reviews for things that ill fit my taste. I will update this review after I finish.

UPDATE

Just finished the book a few days ago and still love it. I never thought that 'gay humor' could be so funny. This book let me look at the world through the eyes of a very funny, elderly, gay man. John Waters is both brilliant and hilarious. At John's age, he really isn't interested in sex. The homosexuality jokes are often self-deprecating and endear the reader to the author. John Waters knows how to laugh at himself while being comfortable with who he is.

Not all reviewers criticize the book for the author's sexuality. Some don't like the structure of the book. The first novella of the book is based on John's fantasy of what the best possible trip would be like. The second is his nightmare trip. The last section is the actual trip itself. At first, I was dying to get through the first two novellas to see what John's trip was actually like. Then, I really started enjoying the first two, fictional chapters. Odd characters in these chapters are like caricatures of ideas that exist in 2010s USA pop-culture. There is a fun freegan in the dream chapter and a nightmare one in the second section. There are good hipsters in the first novella and wicked ones in the nightmare novella. Fans of Water's work exist in both nightmare and dream versions. There are just so many fun characters in the fictional chapters.

The third novella turned out to be kind of mundane compared to John's fantasies. John has a Republican buddy called the "Corvette Kid" who turns out to be a good companion. The "Corvette Kid" is the most fleshed out of the non-fiction characters. It turns out that most of the characters in the non-fiction chapter aren't as detailed as in the fiction ones. Many of the non-fiction characters aren't even given specific names. They're just named "coal miner" or "truck driver". He speaks favorably of them, but he also doesn't really let the audience know much about them. Other than he respects most of them. Waters spends a lot of time stuck on the side of the road, in often pouring down rain. His hotel stays aren't exactly ideal either. John Waters really likes middle-America. He's not some lofty, liberal elite. He likes everyday people. Perhaps even more than his Hollywood associates. And to think, he's not even running for election.

In sum, I would highly recommend this book. It's a short read. At least I picked up the hardcover version to share with friends. Despite the fact that the book was roughly $16, and only lasted a few hours, I'd conclude that the book was well worth the money. I laughed, I learned and I came away from the book feeling more empathetic to other people in general. Thank you John Waters.

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