The year is 1995 and Mary has returned from University to Bedford. She is bored and goes to a party where she meets three people, Jack, Neal and Maggie, Bedford's self-confessed 'Beats'. This group want to ignore anything that was created after 1966, for them the end of the Beat movement.

After joining the group for a 'Beat Happening' at the public library Mary decides that she wants to sleep with Jack because he looks dangerous, she becomes a fake Beatnik and even dates Neal so she can get to Jack. Mary, Jack and Neal along with his cat Koko set off to Brighton where they share bedroom threesomes but divisions between the group leads to Neal suddenly disappearing. When Koko dies Mary and Neal set off to America to scatter her ashes in New York and in California, crossing the country following in the footsteps of 'Sal' Jack Kerouac's hero in his novel 'The Road', Jack's favourite novel.

This book is meant as a warning against the danger of excesses and could have been so much more. The initial premise seems good, the Beat generation were an interesting sub-culture whose ethos was to be Bold, be Brave and be Balanced, members looked to reject materialism and sought experiences that were 'Real' which included sex, drugs and Eastern spirituality, even if this particular group's belief that it all suddenly ended in 1966 seemed a tad ludicrous.

The main problem with this book is that it just doesn't go anywhere despite its subtitle of 'An English Road Movie. Nor are any of the characters very likeable. Jack is a sexist egomaniac, Neal is quiet, easily influenced and has a thing for his cat which soon gets boring, Maggie isn't even necessary whilst Mary is in her own words 'a bitch' who despite not liking Jack as a person is still willing to follow him everywhere and do virtually everything that he suggests even if this means hurting Neal. Litt tries to fill his story with Beat expressions, like “dig,” “hip” and “man.” and whilst the dialogue feels fresh at certain moments it quickly stagnates.

When the book does finally get on the road it is dull and whilst Mary and Jack finally reach their destination the story doesn't and is left open ended. I continued reading it in the forlorn hope that it would improve but it never really raised its level above the dull and as such I can't in all honesty recommend it, there are far too many better books out there. ( )

Litt began has career by stating that each of his novels would be titled alphabetically. so, obviously, Beatniks is his second book (but actually the fifth book by him I’ve read). He’s currently at “N”, and he started in 1996, so he’s not managing one a year. I first came across Litt with Journey into Space (2009), a generation starship novel. I seem to remember it wasn’t bad – the prose was better than most sf novels, but the science fiction itself was a bit old-fashioned. But I liked the idea of publishing books with alphabetical titles, so I kept an eye open for his books. He’s been a bit of a gadfly, as no two books have been the same. Beatniks is not atypical for UK lit fic. It’s set in Bedford, Litt’s hometown. A young woman is invited to a party, where she meets three people – two bloke and a woman – who refuse to acknowledge anything that happened after Dylan went electric. She can’t decide if they’re complete poseurs, but she fancies one of them so she tries to get them better. It all ends up with a trip to Brighton, where they learn a bit more about each other than they perhaps wanted to. It was hard to sympathise with the three “Beats” as they seemed to behave in a wilfully ridiculous manner. The narrator at least was sympathetic. But it all hung together entertainingly. A fast read, and enjoyable, and perhaps a little more memorable than some of Litt’s other books I’ve read. ( )

I started reading this with vigour. I love the beat era, Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan and the concept of an American road trip, and of course the awesome town of Brighton, all referenced or used within the book to some extent.

It seemed perfect....

However, it was flawed in various ,disappointing aspects. The characters were way too simple, with the girl loving baths and dresses and the boys being, well, boys (the bisexuality used throughout, though different, just seemed misplaced). There was no real character development or originality with each character, although some well written lines and sections showed home, others bought the book back down to a mediocre level.

It wasn't awful and it wasn't that annoying up until the last section. The road trip seemed rushed and the characters developed in ways that were confusing, annoying and out of character (from what little there was to go on of course!)

And the ending...my god...

I am all for ambiguity in endings, but I almost threw my book out of the window. I will not spoil it..but I was angry after reading the end... ( )

Beatniks, described as a British road movie proved a quick and enjoyable read. The book was intended as a tribute to Keroac and came out on the 40th anniversary of the publication of On the Road. The book was pacey, well-plotted and I liked the three main characters very much. Litt also writes sex well and if you don't know what yabyum is, do read the book and find out! Litt has written a screenplay for the film and perhaps one day it will come to production. ( )