Review
Looking through the catalogue of titles in the back of Vacation I noticed the term “irreal fiction” mentioned several times. Writers are forever trying to find a way around the term “fantasy.” Speculative fiction worked for a while, but that term is now too common and loose. “Interstitial Fiction” is gaining popularity, which probably means that it will be useless as a genre definer soon. “Irreal” has an interesting connotation. Most dictionaries define irreal as an antiquated version of unreal. In literature, however, irreal goes beyond unreal to describe an estrangement or alienation from reality.
Quotes from the back of the book describe Vacation as “a potent social theory, a spiritual hopscotch” or “The Mundane turned mystical turned metaphysical turned indescribable.” This sounds all very academic, but all this labeling is just semantics and it glosses over one very important fact about Vacation. This is a fun book! It’s gruesome in spots, wildly psychotic sometimes, and yes, irreal, but also fun.
Because overpopulation has made travel unbearable, the world’s governments have decided that each citizen may take one year of his life to travel and see the sights. After this Vacation, he must be content to live out the rest of his life in his own country. When Bernard Johnson sets off on his Vacation, he expects to see all the usual sites--Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, etc. Little does he know that the corporate sponsors of the Vacation won’t let the travelers see anything else. When Johnson unwittingly drops off the grid, he discovers a whole other, grittier, nastier and livelier world behind the scenes of the Vacation. What ensues is a mad romp, sometimes like a stream-of-consciousness dream, other times a touching romance or a gun-toting thriller. By the end of his Vacation, Johnson must decide if he wants to return to the comfort of his old life, or stay in the dangerous, yet satisfying world he has discovered.
I hesitate to use the term “alienation” to describe the theme of this novel. Alienation has been done before and rarely done well. However, alienation to Vacation is like the grenadine syrup in a Mai Tai. It adds color, but the bite comes from a darker source. Jeremy Shipp creates an off-kilter world that is just believable enough to leave the reader wondering if it could possibly be real or simply irreal.
By Jeremy C. Shipp
Published by Raw Dog Screaming Press
Hardcover: $24.95
ISBN 978-1-933293-40-0
Trade paperback: $13.95
ISBN 978-1-933293-41-7
