Reviews for Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon

The average rating for Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-07-16 00:00:00 Alex Kimble The book hooked me in the Purple Room at Powell's with the first sentence, a quote from fellow Portlander and author Katherine Dunn's Geek Love: "'Everyone in Portland is living a minimum of three lives.'" (I'm not suggesting anything insidious here, but there are so many references to the other Doubleday author Dunn and her book that the word "product placement" did cross my mind.) I was there for a week on a work trip and even then I caught a glimpse of at least three Portlands: a fit wealthy organic beautiful people more-out-doorsy-than and escaped-from LA crowd mingling with west coast version of Jersey chic (think 'Departure' the rooftop restaurant at the Nines); a methy, furious anti-"the Man" addict squatter maybe on bike and skateboard crowd mingling with true down and outs and psychotics... (these, not those documented in this book) are the city's most "cracked of the crack ups"; and warm smart lovey but also edgey demanding hugger people, freaky kinky folks who imagine a world without limits who are genuine originals and who are rightly the focus of this book, and who create the vibe that the city's geek squadrons and tech workers ride on. Fittingly, then, the book has three voices: the tour guide sections to both off-the-beaten and beaten paths; "postcards" i.e. memoir-y pure-Palahniuk vignettes that worked to insert narrative interest in a book that otherwise reads like a curiosity shop; and a third. The best parts of the tour guide sections effectively lift the rooftop on a whole world of Portland's quirks and kinks. These sections are uneven, though, with some (such as the one on gardens) that seem so straight up and without a trace of Palahniuk signatures that I wondered if they were added at the publisher's instructions. On the books own quirks and kinks: I admire a writer who'll slip in the word "there're" (for there are) every now'n'then. And I liked the (quaint or rebellious) commitment to providing telephone numbers for every verge-of-extinction establishment and individual in the tour guide parts of the book. The "Portland vocabulary" chapter too seemed tacked on to me, more like a publisher's gimmick, because it's exactly the kind of thing the "establishment" people who buy cutesy tour guides love. Oh, our cab driver pointed out the smallest park in the world ("Mill's End park" on SW Taylor). It's breathtaking! You must go there. Make a day of it by sitting in the park and reading Chuck's book.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-08-13 00:00:00 Patrick Warthen Just go to Portland. I have been there 7 times. Just outside of the city are the mountains and waterfalls (a five minute drive). Perhaps my favorite city in the U.S., it is full of life, culture, hate, and wonder and yet still costs as much as living in Tulsa. I plan on moving there after my Bachelor's degree. Screw the book, just book a flight.