Ultimate Excursions

by Alan Gottlieb

Seeking a respite from the stresses of Peace Corp life in rural Ecuador, Tim Lake embarks on a vacation to Peru that starts as an innocent journey that devolves into chaos. Ultimate Excursions will... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0977418820
• ISBN13: 9780977418824
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Paanadaa
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Wild ride of the soul

This is a hell of a story that I could not put down: gripping and appalling, cosmically funny and deeply painful. Gottlieb's sharp-edged observation and brilliant writing unleash a roller-coaster ride of the soul starting at the bottom in darkest night, rocketing through twists and turns, ups and downs, tropical sun, grimy alleys. It's disorienting, disturbing and spiked with unexpected laugh-aloud humor. Gottlieb is a an acute observer of human frailty and vanity. Protagonist Tim Lake, no hero, is initially a pathetic and shame-filled loser who claws his way back to survival, growth, and even nobility. A must-read!

Tim Lake Runs Deep

Ultimate Excursions let's us walk along with Tim Lake as he evolves from uncertainty to cowardice to chaotic to comatose to cathartic to courageous. Alan Gottlieb's smooth-rolling style of writing makes Ultimate Excursions a memorable and enjoyable read.

Great read!

This novel is a compelling and fast read. Gottlieb is a fantastic writer. The narrator disappears behind the details as the story and clever character portrayals leave lasting impressions. The unsympathetic protagonist drags the reader along through a picaresque and pathetic journey in search of self-knowledge and redemption. Fascinating character profiles and plot threads all wind together in a surprise mystery ending. This would be a great book group choice because it presents interesting questions about one's capacity for growth and transformation, as well as a subtle critique of some of the religious and social movements of our time.

WOW!!!!! A magnificent novel!!!!!

Ultimate Excursions is a magnificent novel! The book delves deeply into the psychological struggles that each and every person goes through in their lives while spinning a daring story that takes place in exotic South American locales and the mundane towns located across the USA. I have never read a book that left me stunned for days after finishing. The book is written beautifully, the story is a deep drop into reality and the thrilling end will leave you mentally exhausted. This is a great piece of writing.

Gripping Story: Anti-Hero Grows Up

Adventure, horror, mystery, Ultimate Excursions is also the chronicle of Tim Lake's development, as he is shocked and jolted into maturity. A feckless youth, he discovers the hard way that he must confront himself in order to achieve self-respect and self-fulfillment. Well-paced, the narrative transfixes the reader and hands out a few unanticipated twists and surprises. Recommended for its insights as well as its tight and suspenseful construction.