in watermelon sugar by richard brautigan

The novel's narrator, who is left unnamed, claims to be writing an investigative book on his experiences at iDEATH. The landscape of the novel is constantly in flux each day has a different colored sun which creates different colored watermelons, and the central building also changes frequently. In this environment, many things are made of watermelon sugar (though the inhabitants also use pine wood and stone for building material and fuel made from trout oil). Set in the aftermath of a fallen civilization, it focuses on a commune organized around a central gathering house which is named 'iDEATH'. In Watermelon Sugar is an American post-apocalyptic novel by Richard Brautigan written in 1964 and published in 1968. (Book 393 from 1001 books) - In Watermelon Sugar, Richard Brautigan I know a lot of people hate Brautigan pretty rabidly, but those people are obviously missing some kind of cog or other soul mechanism that fosters the appreciation of strange, sad beauty. When anyone in town dies, they are put in a glass coffin which is lined with foxfire and sunk into the lake, where it glows and glows and glows.

In addition to the statues of vegetables all around the town, there's a trout hatchery, the Forgotten Works, the abandoned bridge, a restaurant, and a huge lake, with couches on the beach. On Sundays the sun is not only black but soundless, and everything is silent until the sun sets. Oh, and the sun shines a different color every day of the week, so the watermelon sugar is different colors depending on the day it was made. The whole book takes place in a few days, in a tiny little town where everything (houses, statues, dishes, clothes, etc.) is made of watermelon sugar.

It's the simplest little story: two lovers, a scorned ex-girlfriend, an old-timer who lights the lanterns on the bridges, a chef who cooks nothing but carrots. In Watermelon Sugar is 138 pages long - many of which are half pages at best - and yet manages to whip up a stunning, strange, surreal little world, full of sad, sweet characters and shockingly beautiful images. I almost can't believe how dazzling this book is.

In watermelon sugar by richard brautigan