THE BEACH (Garland A.)

Richard, the narrator and central character of this impressive first novel, is on a 'year-out', travelling the well-worn year-out trails of South East Asia when we meet him in a Bangkok hotel. His neighbour in the hotel Daffy is apparently deranged and, sure enough, tops himself - but leaves directions to the remote beach of the title for Richard to find. Intrigued by the prospect of going somewhere still off the beaten track, Richard and his new-found French chums Etienne and Francoise manage to find the beach where they discover a new-ageish community of seasoned travellers living off the land and smoking lots of dope from a nearby plantation.