ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

by Dave Wallis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 1964

The premise of the unusually unconvincing fantasy, which reworks the theme of the Lord of the Flies, is that all the ""Oldies"" (cops, parents, educators) have committed suicide with Easiway pills (mainly) and the teeners are left with a world to rip open with their perversities. One day Alf Neighbor, a cynical newsman, notices that the government is covering up the number of suicides in Britain. He organizes the Alf Neighbor Help Centre (""Don't Do It Till You've Read This, Chums"") for tired and disaffected Oldies, but Alf himself eventually dies under questionable circumstances. Government grinds to a halt, newspapers die, manufacturing ceases and soon there is only a colossal teen-age black market. The strongest kids join with the packs of raiders who prey on each other after having looted the cities and spend most of their time in sports cars. When one fancy apartment gets dirty, they just go find another, go North to the highlands and set up their own community. At story's end, clans of level-headed teeners who have learned responsibility are gathering into a new self-governing community that will rebuild civilization. The characters are perfectly banal and the author's imagination pedestrian.

Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1964

Categories: FICTION