Mathematician Kenneth Hailey wanted to start a new life, and the best way to do that was to leave New York. He traveled over 3000 miles to the Bayview area. Never before had Kenneth seen such a different way of life. Here there were free-spirited hippies, who lived by their own rules. The biggest experience that happens to Kenneth is meeting hippie chick, Rose Red. She is a woman who believes in being exactly who she is and letting nothing or anyone restrict her. When she invites him to meet her friends and crash at her pad, his world is rocked off its axel. She even manages to help him forget about his last and only girlfriend Priscilla, who ended their relationship. Rose Red does frustrate and excite him to no end. Where he is logical, serious and cynical, Rose Red is the opposite. They might need each other much more then either one of them dreamed. For even a fancy-free woman needs a stable man to love her, and he needs a woman that can set him free when the cynicism and stress take their toll. The only thing he had not counted on was Rose Red loving another man from her past.

Long Strange Trip is one man's nostalgic journey back to the Summer of Love in 1967; this was the year where love found him and sent him soaring. The love that blooms between Kenneth and Rose Red is inspiring, sentimental and very passionate. I found myself smiling a lot because of Rose Red's antics. She knew just what to do to ruffle Kenneth's feathers. Kenneth is a likeable man, even if at times you want to shake him because of the cynicism inside of him. Long Strange Trip is novel that's sure to please those that like to read about hippies, freedom, love and the 60's.


Reviewed by: Anita