Mountain View

by Otis West

A slacker-lit novel about lost love, bad decisions, and a Plymouth Barracuda that barely runs—set in the suburban sprawl of 1980s California.

Home for the summer in Silicon Valley after his first year at Berkeley, Colin drifts through fading family ties, old friendships, and the bittersweet pull of first love—only to find that nothing feels quite the way it used to. But by the novel’s end, he knows he can’t go back. Packed with road trips, keggers, and the kind of nights that felt like they’d last forever, Mountain View captures the blur of a summer where everything changes.

With snapshots of ‘80s life throughout—from answering machines to VHS players to cassette tapes—Mountain View will make a fun read for Gen Xers who want to remember “the good old days,” and for younger generations looking for an authentic glimpse into a pre-digital world.

A coming-of-age story for anyone who loved Catcher in the Rye, Less Than Zero, or Dazed and Confused.

Genres: Fiction, Coming Of Age

275 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2025

About the author

Otis West spent his formative years in Northern California and currently resides in the Pacific Northwest. A proud Gen Xer, he still loves punk rock, carburetors, and old Jim Jarmusch movies.

Reviews

[ritareadthat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always honest in my reviews. I'll admit I started out a little perturbed at the superficially disjointed and simplistic writing style. But here's where I will admit I was wrong. As the story progressed, the rough patches on the road of our protagonist's journey evened out—having seemingly been laid with new asphalt—therefore resulting in a smoother read. I feel the author found a rhythm that carried us through to the end, reinforcing the strength of its cadence. My feelings morphed from being disgruntled and a bit irritable to being thoroughly enamored with the same simplistic style by the book's end. This, my friends, is why I typically am not in favor of DNFing a book. Look at what I would have missed out on.

I am always fond of character-driven books, and while this one is a doggedly slow crescendo, it builds and transforms into a story that is nostalgic and memorable, evoking those late-teenage years just after high school, when anything is possible, yet feels so far out of reach. Set in the 90s, this one particularly hit home for me as I graduated from high school in '96. (Yes, I'm from the 1900s, as one of my co-workers likes to phrase it.)

Collin is heading home to Mountain View after just finishing his freshman year at Berkeley. His roommate Gordie is in tow, and they are tasked with cleaning out Collin's childhood home as his father prepares it for sale. As summer fades away, slowly, calmly, and seemingly uneventfully, Collin is flooded with childhood memories of his family, his friends, and moments he has spent around Mountain View. His relationships with his childhood friends become entangled with those of his college friends, creating a new path in Collin's world. As these new opportunities between those he cares about—both old and new—develop, Collin challenges thoughts of what it means to care for others and what it means to question his reliance on self and individuality.

I think about Collin's seemingly lackluster and disinterested interactions with his friends and initially wanted more. It niggled at my brain as I got further into the book. Not every life is grand and eventful and full of inspiration and joy—some lives are simply lived. How do you take a life that is seemingly boring and uneventful and transform it into a story with meaning and intent? I feel that this is where the author has excelled, reshaping and molding everyday life into something that is worth reading about, worth cheering for, and worth inspiring hope for the commonplace individual.

Many thanks to the author for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

[Josh Rice - Author · Rating 4 out of 5]

In college, I had a small, but tight-knit group of friends that my two years of senior education revolved around. We spent days together skipping classes and evening together doing god knows what.

Mountain View made me think of them. Of the friends like Jack who travelled the world, of the friends like Gordie who pulled away leaving a void. I understood why Colin, our MC, drifted through the novel, not depressed but flat, needing more but having no idea where to start.

We as humans don't typically realise how much the people around us shape us. Not until years later, often when it's too late to thank them.

Otis has a talent for capturing a part of life that most of us in our 30s or older have forgotten, the unknown that comes from starting again post school, then again post college. The new friends, new places, the way safe spaces change, representing something new and alien.

Mountain View is a story where we live through Colin. We enjoy his ups, float through the flat days and ride the lows.

To Colin, I hope you found whatever it is that makes you look forward to tomorrow.

Great work, Otis. Having read both of your novels, I think you have real talent. I pray more people read Mountain View and Kato.

[Matthew Linton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Late teenagerdom is an awkward period of transition for many people. You have many of the freedoms of an adult without the responsibilities. Your living arrangements are often unsettled between home and college for some or with roommates and at the beginnings of careers for others. You’re treated inconsistently by others: sometimes as an adult and other times as a kid.

This liminal space between childhood and adulthood is fertile ground for artistic interpretation. In film, coming of age has been examined in movies ranging from Rebel Without a Cause to Superbad. Novels have also often examined this transition whether it takes place on a college campus or at home. Young watchers and readers often see themselves reflected in coming-of-age stories, while older adults relate to them through the prism of memory.

Otis West’s novel Mountain View is a classic coming of age novel. We follow Colin, a teen returning home to Mountain View, California after his first year at the University of California – Berkeley. Back home, Colin struggles to make sense of his changing hometown and its residents. He has a strained relationship with both of his parents who are divorced and struggles to relate to his childhood friends who are starting to change into adults with new responsibilities and priorities.

Despite West’s insistence that Mountain View is an ‘80s novel, the book is successful because of its timelessness and its depiction of that universal feeling of disruption that comes at the dawn of adulthood. Mountain View is an ideal summer read. It’s breezy and, for me, touched by the nostalgia of years gone by. I look forward to reading what West does next and if he can continue to capture that timeless feeling of being young, free, and unsatisfied.

[Shawn Gipson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most emotionally honest books I’ve read in a long time—and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it. Otis West sent me a copy of Mountain View to review, and while it’s undoubtedly a great book, it hit me in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

I typically lean toward fantasy, sci-fi, and horror—genres that pull me out of life. Mountain View pulled me into it. Too much, maybe. The story follows Colin, a college student who returns home to Mountain View for the summer. It seems simple on the surface, but what unfolds is a deeply nostalgic, and at times uncomfortably real, journey through friendship, identity, and growing up.

Watching Colin navigate the fading bonds of childhood friendship as he slowly transitions into adulthood felt deeply personal. I went through something almost identical—returning home after time away only to find that the people you once knew so well now feel distant, unfamiliar. The scenes are written with a quiet, aching authenticity that stirred up memories I wasn’t expecting to confront.

This isn’t a book that lets you escape—it makes you reflect. It’s a love letter to the version of yourself that used to be, and a gentle reminder that change is both inevitable and necessary.

If you’re looking for something to make you feel, to remember, to process, Mountain View is worth your time. Just be prepared: it may hit closer to home than you think.

[J.M. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mountain View is as real as it gets.

I was just a baby in the 90s, yet this book made me deeply nostalgic for a time gone by.

Mountain View is a slow-burn, character-driven story that feels honest, raw, and quietly powerful. The small moments, the awkward silences, the drifting thoughts.

Colin is the kind of character you slowly start to see yourself in, whether you want to or not. His uncertainty, restlessness, and longing feel universal.

Jack, Gordie, Beth, Chloe, Mercedes Steve, and Pablo all feel like people we know.

Subtle, reflective, and as real as it gets.

[2Tall · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good read. It has a definite Holden Caulfield vibe but instead of 1950s NYC it's late 1980s Peninsula and Berkeley. Incredibly authentic. At first the protagonist annoyed me a bit but he grew on me, and he and his friends remind me of people I knew. And his emotional state, too, was recognizable - a slightly depressed 19yo during their first summer home from college, regressing right back into where they were a year before but also realizing that it is all slipping away and will never be the same.
I love that the author refers to "101" and not "the 101" (used to differentiate between people from the Bay Area and SoCal) and to the scene in The Graduate where every By Area native knows Dustin Hoffman is going the wrong way. I was surprised Colin was only mildly annoyed when his roommate Gordie started wearing a Stanford hat (pretty unusual for a Cal freshman). There are a few Mountain View references that make me suspect he is really talking about the Eichler-forest in south Palo Alto: Alma becomes Central as it enters Mountain View, and 326 is a Palo Alto prefix, Mountain View numbers used to be 9's, like 965 or 960. But the slight shift by a mile does not take away from the authenticity of the book.

[Annaliese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mountain View is a captivating book—not because there’s all that much going on in the plot, nor any contrived, overly wrought writing. The book reads quickly due to the short chapters, sentences presented simply, and rapid changes of scenery, but all this contributes to the feelings this book evokes: the swift end of summer, the bittersweet feeling of coming home, the disappointment of change.

At the risk of easy comparison, this story has the busy Californian quality of Less Than Zero with an apathetic main character à la The Graduate (although much more tolerable.) Would definitely recommend for fans of the above novels as the book has a place among other popular dispassionate-young-man-in-the-70s-and-80s books. I’m looking forward to reading West’s other books.

I received a copy of Mountain View from the author himself, and this is my honest review. Thanks, Otis!

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my first book from Otis West. A very cool coming of age story set in the early 80s. So good vibes, no mobiles and such. Just a different time from the world we life in now. It read very easily, will definitely check out more from West.

7/10

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Eichler cover art definitely brought me in, but enjoyed the journey and progression of the narrative. Story felt oddly familiar to my own in some ways, and also enjoyed the different Bay Area locations that were featured. A lot of my old stomping grounds living in NorCal: Berkeley, Sutro Baths, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, etc.

[Quinn Vollink]

ultimately just a fun little time. nostalgia fueled. this was written in 1998! and takes place in 1988! and was released in 2025! makes for a fun feel, of time capsule reaching, but also youthful yearning. and it’s cool and it’s fun and it made me think about being 19 in an almost intense way. which has not happened in a long time: so woah rock n roll

[kozo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot just how much I genuinely adore this type of literature.

[Ken A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read! An homage to the best of college summers of the ‘80’s. West writes his main character as a more mature/less cynical Holden Caulfield - while still retaining the flair. His storytelling is reminiscent of Willy Vlautin with typical life events that have profound implications for all the characters. Absolutely read this.

[Husain Necklace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mountain View by Otis West was a really, really fun read!

It’s the kind of book that makes it clear in the first few chapters what you can expect from the story: plain and simple nostalgia that takes you back to those summer days when you had nothing to do.

Your guide throughout this book is Colin, a protagonist who has no clue about what he wants from his life and who’s simply going through the motions. He decides to go home during his summer break and realizes that he hates almost everyone — because they’re moving on and excelling in their lives unlike him.

If this gives you the impression of a young adult moving into manhood, that’s exactly what it is.

What this book does really well is give you that sense of nostalgia for summer breaks we’ve all spent contemplating our future.

At the verge of adulthood, we’ve all grappled with identity crises and questions about our purpose in life. Otis West gives words to these ideas and embodies them through the character of Colin and his actions throughout the novel.

And I have to say…it feels like such a relief!

Knowing that someone completely understands the volcano of feelings I (all of us) felt at that age really does make me (you) feel lighter. It gives the impression of *“I’m not alone”* and makes you more invested in the character’s journey, curious to see how it all ends.

Overall, this is a really good, cozy, and warm book that makes you feel seen, heard, and understood. I recommend giving this a read if you’ve already passed that phase; if not, and you’re still in it, then read it anyway because it will help you mellow out for the future!

[Brad Porteus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mountain View is a literary time capsule that beautifully and authentically captures a time and a place and a vibe that was the late 1980s in Bay Area way before things got crazy.

It's 1988 and Colin wraps up his freshman year at Berkeley, and nonchalantly makes his way back to his childhood home to find something to do over his summer. Part teenage boy, part wanna be adult man, Colin flounders somewhere in between. Trying to figure out his place in the world, Colin navigates his old neighborhood, lacking direction from peers or parents who are too in their own heads to know how to relate to a young adult.

The vibe of the book is reminiscent of Richard Linklater's Boyhood where on the one hand, little happens, and at the same time, is brimming with real life happening all around. Author Otis West brings forward a narrative through Colin that nails the Slacker vibe of the times through a 19 year-old boy who is torn between having not a care in the world or caring too much.

Nostalgic and wholesome, Mountain View takes the reader back to a breezy angst-filled summer in the late 80s. It's a fast and easy beach read that is also, as Colin would say, fun as hell.

[Page West · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This was a very good read. Reminiscent of the day before we all had contact with everyone at all times. While I never grew up in this specific era (This is a late 80s setting I believe, I. which I would've just been born), there is so much that is relatable to me while I was in my teen years.

It's kind of funny how a book can release feelings of nostalgia, when you don't even have a basis for it to be nostalgic. In 1989, I was learning to walk, not getting my '64 Plymouth fixed. But I still feel that era so much in Otis' writing here. I think that is a sign of a very well written story.

I think my knock on this book (bringing it down a half star) is actually mostly based on my expectation of it going in. I had heard that this was "Stoner, set in the 80s", and I was really excited to hear about a lifetime of someone whose formidable years passed through the 80s. That wasn't this however, and we only really looked into Colin's life for one summer. Not the end of the world, but not quite what I had hoped for.

Though the character mood is very similar, I think it is easier for me to relate to a kid who feels lost in the 80s, than a gentleman growing up poor in the 20s.

Very solid book, and I'm anxiously looking forward to reading more from Otis.

[Devin Rogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that avoids mawkishness, melodrama or irony to present life as it is. It is deceptively well written in how well it avoids over articulating. The restraint generates a naturalistic sense of time passing, coming of age, and sensing the inherent limitations of what one will experience in life. All of this is done so skillfully and carefully it is easy to miss the heavy lifting done through the slow accrual of events and meaning and change. Beautiful and true- it’s a missing 90s classic I’m glad was published.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written, a transitional stage for a young man that otherwise is just ordinary, like all of us. Nothing exceptional, just everyday but it is in this undramatic telling that you become drawn in. Philosophical reflection of an ordinary life. I find this book as hard any I’ve read to review. Its simplicity is its strength yet I personally found this perhaps a little underwhelming, but that does feel like an unfair critique for a story that does make you feel connected your own journey.