The Naked Drinking Club

by Rhona Cameron

It's the late eighties and 24-year-old Kerry has been drifting aimlessly through life. Rarely having plans of any kind, she gets drunk and things 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, not much money, and her work visa. Soon broke, hungry, and homeless, she joins a likeable but mismatched band of travelers 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.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Maria Keenan · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring; ‘edgy’ does not equal interesting

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review Snippet: "As those of you who read my blog know, I am not a fan of "books about nothing", and this books fits nicely into that category.
If you are a fan of books depicting binge drinking, recreational drugs, casual sex, aimless wanderers and not much else, this title may fulfil your desires. For me, I found this book lacking.
Full Review: http://www.bookywooks.blogspot.com.au...

[Carmen Chalmers]

Did not finish this book..... Life is too short tto waste on a crap book!!

[Judy Nickless · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more of a 3 and a half star read.

[Elisa Vangelisti · Rating 1 out of 5]

non che mi aspettassi chissà che da questo titolo, ma insomma...

[☆°•°•Jonty°•°•☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book boring and lost interest half way thru reading it, which is a big disappointment.

[Elle B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good summer holiday read! Finished in a couple of days. :)

[Barbra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this book - it just seemed to repetative and after a while I found it boring.

Back Cover Blub:
Kerry has always drifted aimlessly through life. Rarely having plans of any kind, she gets drunk and things happen: sex, drugs, parties. At the age of 24 she decides all this must change. Dreaming of a new start, she leaves the grey skies of her Edinburgh home for the sun-baked promise of Australia.
Soon broke, hungry and homeless, she joins a mismatched band of fellow travellers who make a living selling dodgy oil paintings door-to-door. They are young, beautiful, free of responsibility and determined to live life to excess as they travel across the country.
But as things spiral out of control, Kerry relises that even changing your country, job and friends can't help you hide from who you are and what you're really looking for.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerry Swaine has come to Australia from Edinburgh to find her mother. She has drifted through life with no real plans and she has always felt the odd one out and was not happy to be adopted. At 18 she started looking for her mother and now she is in Australia not sure which way to go to start he looking but things fall into place and she finds her, but the meeting is not quite what she hoped for.

In Sydney she meets a group of people when she starts selling artwork door to door. She is a party girl and does not seem to be happy unless she is drunk - but one night being drunks gets her and a friend in trouble.

I rather enjoyed this story, I woudl have liked a better ending I think but on the whole it was an good read.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a British girl who goes to Australia to find her birth mother. It takes a while for the reason she came to Oz to finally be revealed. The girl is kind of a mess and gets into some group of people selling fake art door to door to earn some money, while she buys her time. She meets crazy people and drinks a lot. She does find her mother in the end and it’s a really interesting meeting, nothing like I have ever read before. The mother doesn’t want to meet the Girl, but she does. The book just kind of ends and you kind of wonder how this affects the Girl. She wanted to meet her mother so badly and they do meet, but the mother says she never wants to see the Girl again, does the Girl accept that? I can’t see the Girl accepting that. But you never know.

Grade: C

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting read. Having seen Cameron's stand-up routine I was expecting similar but it is something of a departure from that. The book definitely gains momentum as the plot unravels, so rush the opening chapters if you can - for me the set-up was far too indulgent. Although most of the characters appear simply drawn I feel that is a deliberate and interesting choice, highlighting the fleeting nature of these people in the protagonists life and her somewhat uncaring attitude towards most of them for the majority of their time together. The plot itself unfolds interestingly slowly although there are predictable moments and lamentable co-incidences, alongside a few interesting, if far too momentary, red-herrings.

[Megs Mlutz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pity we can't give half stars. I really struggled to see the point of this book - sure she was on a mission, but that didnt give her the right to carry on the way she did. And it portrayed Aussies as.. well dumb and gullible, which we arent. I liked how she finally found the connection at the end but the ending was a bit ambigous - does she go to the NT, does she go back to scotland? Does she keep in touch with her family? It didn't really do anything for me

[Charlotte Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, I've never liked Rhona Cameron much as a comedienne and didn't expect her books to 'redeem' her, if you will, but I have thoroughly enjoyed both her books. 'The Naked Drinking Club' is repetitive, but I find this reinforces the protagonist, Kerry's struggle to break the mould of her life and find what she's really looking for.

[Warren Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book ; mainly I guess as it was funny, it was different.
I liked the way the tale was woven through a door to door art sale scam,
- you get the feeling the author probably partook in such an occupation!

[Stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I'd known it was based on her true story before I read it.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not particularly inspiring...

[Isaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hepatitis and the rest

[Wild Horses · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was readable and kind of funny in places but nowhere near as good as 1979. It was pretty well written but became kind of repetitive and I was glad to finish it and move on.