Thursday, January 13, 2011

CALIFORNIA DREAMING (LAWRENCE DONEGON)



California Dreaming is the tale of Lawrence Donegan, an ex bass player turned journalist, living out a grim life in Glasgow. He’s always dreamed of going to live in America but it’s only when an old friend turns up and hugs him in the street (hug? In Glasgow?) that he gets his chance – his friend now runs a silicon chip company in Los Angeles and offers Lawrence a job.

Lawrence heads out with his girlfriend and soon discovers that he has no idea at all of what a silicon chip is or what on earth he might be doing in an office full of people who listen to Kenny G. More than that he can’t understand how everyone talks about how much money they make and how much they spent on their cars, homes and hair cuts. He finds himself wondering if he’s the only sane person in a neighbourhood of “..27 Mexican landscape gardeners, one black guy who worked in the café on the main street and ten thousand rich white folks with nice tans and big white teeth.”

He soon discovers that his American dream is to become a used car salesman. This comes about primarily with the ease that he’s talked into buying a car and the profit that the salesman makes. After wading through weeks of bureaucracy to get a salesman licence (?) he’s given a job after 30 seconds at the first place he walks into and is told to get out there and start selling with no training at all.

I rate this book 7/10 ( a very good example of a person that wanted to try something new)

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TOTAL NUMBER OF BOOKS (AS OF JUNE 2009)

1400
Latest addition (90 fictions from Payless Warehouse)
(10 non fictions from Boosk Xcess @ Amcorp Mall)