Book Of The Month June, 2007
The Naked Drinking ClubRhona Cameron
It was dark when I came to. What woke me was the cold and the water on my legs. I was doing spoons with Scotty, me behind him. We were on a beach. We didn t speak for the first minute, we were so disorientated. I had to genuinely think very hard about where I was. Then I remembered I was in Australia. It’s the late eighties and 24-year-old Kerry has been drifting aimlessly through life in Edinburgh. Rarely having plans of any kind, she gets drunk and things happen: sex, drugs, parties, relationships, and, when she’s really pushed, work. Setting off on a hastily arranged visit to Australia, Kerry packs only three items of clothing, a pair of flip-flops, two hundred pounds and her young persons work visa. Soon broke, hungry and homeless, she joins ART, a likeable but mismatched band of travellers who sell dodgy oil paintings door-to-door in the suburbs. Young, beautiful and free, they drink wildly and live for the moment. Embarking on a riotous road trip together, their lives become deeply entangled, and the drinking spirals out of control. Eventually, Kerry is forced to admit that her journey to Australia isn t quite what it seems
What We Think
Alex MacLeish, Sales, on The Naked Drinking Club:
My recommendation for a rollicking beach read this summer is The Naked Drinking Club by comedienne Rhona Cameron – a rare piece of fiction publishing by Ebury press. Set in the late-eighties, the book follows the path of Kerry, a 24 year old drifter from Edinburgh who whimsically sets off to Australia with only a pair of flip-flops and £200 for company.
On arrival, she falls in with ART, a group of misfit travellers who sell dodgy oil paintings to wealthy suburbanites. What ensues is a fast, furious, sexy, drink-fuelled party which sees Kerry meet a variety of colourful characters, who get her into (and sometimes out of) some hilarious scrapes. Life’s not all one big party though, and Kerry soon finds that she’s more than a little out of her depth. The reader soon realises that there’s more to their heroine than meets the eye – Kerry’s on a mission, and she’s determined to get to where she wants to be.
Being quite a fan of Rhona Cameron’s stand-up, I was intrigued when I heard that she was writing a novel. I wasn’t disappointed. There’s so much more to this book than meets the eye. It’s so much more than just a book about your average 20-something traveller – it is a fast-paced yet moving story of self-discovery. I loved it.