Last One to Kansas City Is a Hippie

Rick Hill has written a compelling (but hilarious!) narrative of the Great American Road Trip, a journey from Southern California to Kansas City by hitchhiking, train hopping, and automobile stealing. Fueled by copious amounts of liquor and marijuana, four men, led by Mac (a KC hipster trying to recapture his glory days in the 1940s), set off in 1970, determined to travel with such style and ease that they’re sure to impress the fairer sex. Along the way, however, they encounter mobsters, drug dealers, possible Charles Manson supporters, and cops, all of whom threaten their lives.

Last One to Kansas City Is a Hippie is told through competing points of view and through various stylistic devices, including flashbacks, but it never becomes confusing or seems “gimmicky.” Instead, the story is propelled forward as the four men have a series of adventures and encounters with bizarre people. One of the more outrageous escapades is when they hook up with two young women in Oklahoma City, never suspecting that they are the daughters of the local gambling and pornography kingpin. This low-rent mobster then swears to kill them and uses his private plane to chase their car.

Most of the story, including the “framing device” set in 1993, is told by Dan, a man whose life has fallen apart. When he remembers the greatest month of his life—the road trip to Kansas City 23 years earlier—he becomes determined to both recreate it and to write a screenplay for a movie in vein of Easy Riders. The novel then repeatedly shifts from 1970 to 1993 as we follow the young Danny and the alcoholic, melancholic Dan on their respective journeys to discover themselves. Both journeys are entertaining, absurdist romps, and I can say that I enjoyed every minute of them.

In conclusion, all I can say about this novel is, “Well done, Mr. Hill!”