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Hunga Dunga: Confessions of an Unapologetic Hippie
Giacco Giordano is insane! He has organic brain damage from too much LSD. He's a borderline schizophrenic. He's harmless, but incurable. The State awards him a paltry stipend, but enough to contribute to the communal coffers of Hunga Dunga and to pursue Enlightenment on a grand scale.
This is his story about that brief but unforgettable time in our history when flower children were sure peace and love would guide the planet. It was only a matter of time. Or so they thought. What happened? Giacco would like to remind you. Time is running out.
HUNGA DUNGA is often holy, often horny. Sometimes saintly, sometimes sexually explicit. From New York to Los Angeles, Lovelock to Woodstock, Tucson to Prince George, San Francisco to Twisp, and an amazing journey around the world in search of The Guru.You are in for some very strange rides. If you are lucky, you might find the secret to god-realization. But make sure you are sitting under a blanket.
" If you really want to understand peace and love, read this book ! Admittedly hilarious, sexy, and outrageous, Hunga Dunga is a "how-to" book for getting us back to the garden. And we have to get ourselves back to the garden!"
- Larry Brinkin, Senior Manager, Human Rights Commission , City of San Francisco
" Polizatto has given the world an amazing picture of a very special time in history. He's woven such a sweet and beautiful story in such a conversational manner, that all the intellectual references gently drip like honey so that anyone can partake in the feast."
- Lee Balan, author of Exhumations and Alien Journal
" Polizatto is an unapologetic hippie and Hunga Dunga is his homage to hippiedom. He shows us things through a new set of eyes and writes erotic scenes that are very hot and at the same time have a real innocence about them. Hunga Dunga is outrageous and very, very funny!"
- BottomLine Magazine
" This just might be THE definitive Sixties novel! There's an extremely literate and eloquent mind at work here. (Polizatto's) descriptions are stunning, and there's such a "being there" feeling that I can never regret I didn't make the "hippie circuit." With this book, the picture is so detailed and complete, it's almost like my own memories. In fact, clearer than my own memories."
- Pat Hartman, author of Ghost Town and Call Someplace Paradise
This is his story about that brief but unforgettable time in our history when flower children were sure peace and love would guide the planet. It was only a matter of time. Or so they thought. What happened? Giacco would like to remind you. Time is running out.
HUNGA DUNGA is often holy, often horny. Sometimes saintly, sometimes sexually explicit. From New York to Los Angeles, Lovelock to Woodstock, Tucson to Prince George, San Francisco to Twisp, and an amazing journey around the world in search of The Guru.You are in for some very strange rides. If you are lucky, you might find the secret to god-realization. But make sure you are sitting under a blanket.
" If you really want to understand peace and love, read this book ! Admittedly hilarious, sexy, and outrageous, Hunga Dunga is a "how-to" book for getting us back to the garden. And we have to get ourselves back to the garden!"
- Larry Brinkin, Senior Manager, Human Rights Commission , City of San Francisco
" Polizatto has given the world an amazing picture of a very special time in history. He's woven such a sweet and beautiful story in such a conversational manner, that all the intellectual references gently drip like honey so that anyone can partake in the feast."
- Lee Balan, author of Exhumations and Alien Journal
" Polizatto is an unapologetic hippie and Hunga Dunga is his homage to hippiedom. He shows us things through a new set of eyes and writes erotic scenes that are very hot and at the same time have a real innocence about them. Hunga Dunga is outrageous and very, very funny!"
- BottomLine Magazine
" This just might be THE definitive Sixties novel! There's an extremely literate and eloquent mind at work here. (Polizatto's) descriptions are stunning, and there's such a "being there" feeling that I can never regret I didn't make the "hippie circuit." With this book, the picture is so detailed and complete, it's almost like my own memories. In fact, clearer than my own memories."
- Pat Hartman, author of Ghost Town and Call Someplace Paradise
596 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 23, 2009
I learned alot about Phil's sex life... and so much more :-)
May 8, 2009
San Francisco in the late 60's and 70's was our wonderworld and Giacco's journeys take us back to a time of discovery of self and true family. From HungaDunga's dinner table to the living rooms of countless communes dotting the City, grab your passport as Polizatto takes us from Jersey, to LA, to SF and the islands, to a dome in Twisp, WA and across a continent or two in the pre-pandemic times we thought would last forever. Share this journey from a time when free love, enlightenment, creativity, and psychedelic meanderings was almost all there was to dream of in a day...
July 31, 2013
I'm always on the search for the elusive book that captures the sense of time and place, but I've come to realize I want it presented the way I want to remember it. I specifically look for 70's novels because I've seen glimpses in some novels of what I want to read. One day, during an Amazon search, I came across this and bought it on my Kindle. It had a lot of 5 star reviews. In fact, it has only 5 star reviews, which is usually a bad sign. I always read both the positive and negative reviews to see why someone doesn't like it, and if that is something that will bother me. I've found that books with only good reviews that aren't substantive are usually a disappointment. Some of the reviews on this book seemed credible, however, and since I supposedly want the tone of the 60's & 70's, I figured I'd read someone else's take on it.
This book read like a memoir. It's a novel, but I feel it lacked the structure of a true novel, no real plotting or thematic elements, with 3 or 4 character types that were used for a myriad of characters. This was more like a guy recounting his life the way he thought it might be interesting, and it actually took me awhile to figure out it was a novel. I'm thinking, though, that the author drew on his own reserves for the many stories of drug use and sex.
And there was so much drug use, quite a bit sex and a constant quest for philosophical enlightenment that it just got boring for me after awhile. Sometimes it's fun to be sober while others are drunk, but I couldn't really feel the trippiness of what he was describing. Moreover, I didn't really get a sense of most of the characters as individuals, and even when I did, I felt no attachment to them whatsoever. I think that was the thing that bothered me most, I was just people watching. I did come to respect Giacco, the teller of this story, but it took a long time for me to tune into his feelings. It was all just so foreign to me.
Part of the problem, I will admit, was it took me about 2 years to read this book. I'm pretty sure, I don't actually remember when I bought it. I read it, it was flowing, you could easily go from one event to another, but not enjoying all the drugs and sex, nor the life decisions that Giacco made, I didn't feel anything pulling me back to read. So it was only when I literally had nothing else to read, I would turn on the Kindle for this. By that time, however, I had forgotten who the people were.
Giacco went from DC to NY to LA to SF where he joined up with the commune Hunga Dunga. When I realized he was going to stay at Hunga Dunga for awhile, and we'd get to know these people that the story became interesting. But I already didn't know who some of the people were by this point, and the problem with the Kindle version is that it wasn't formatted well. The author's name, the book title or random numbers would appear in the middle of sentences periodically. There were no chapters, so moving from one part of this long novel to another was difficult. I couldn't really flip back to figure out who Jon and Rosie were, or even who Michael was when they were reintroduced into the story, and going months in between reading meant I didn't recall them.
After being at Hunga Dunga for awhile, some of the characters took a trip around the world on a quest for spiritual enlightenment that put them in Hawaii, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Israel, Greece and the Netherlands. He was always meeting up with couples who loved him, who saw him as the missing third element in their lives. Sometimes they had children and he became like an uncle to the child, but it always ended up the same way. No matter what method he put in place to keep in contact, the line "after I left such and such place, I neither heard from or saw so and so again". This line showed up so many times that I started looking for it. I frankly wished the author would have left it out because I pretty much know when I leave people behind, I won't see them again. Or at least I did before the Internet, but there is no Internet or cell phones in this story.
There were a lot of serendipitous or coincidental little things that were almost funny in how they worked out, and this is where I figure the fiction comes in. It's kind of like Charles Dickens on a drug trip. The whole thing was just gliding, almost effortlessly, from one little adventure to the next. Car rides, plane rides, money...somehow it all seemed to work out. That was actually the point the author made several times, don't worry about your need in life and it will all come to you. Don't struggle, which is an Herculean effort sometimes.
It was during the trip around the world, then the subsequent return to Hunga Dunga where I realized I kind of liked Giacco. When he was skeptical of the gurus, I liked him more. Once they bought the land in Twisp, WA and started building and living on it, I found a serious sense of respect for his competence and hard work. The drug use and completely dissolute lifestyle seemed to lessen while there was more sex, and while those descriptions didn't really do anything for me, I could appreciate what they did for him. By the time I got to the end, which took place where it began, I felt like I liked Giacco and hoped his life worked out.
One last point: I really feel like this was a white person's book. There were no references to civil rights or anything going on there, and almost all the people in the book were white or Asian. I don't know if he meant to be colorblind or if this was just the typical flower child hippy of the 60's experience.
This book read like a memoir. It's a novel, but I feel it lacked the structure of a true novel, no real plotting or thematic elements, with 3 or 4 character types that were used for a myriad of characters. This was more like a guy recounting his life the way he thought it might be interesting, and it actually took me awhile to figure out it was a novel. I'm thinking, though, that the author drew on his own reserves for the many stories of drug use and sex.
And there was so much drug use, quite a bit sex and a constant quest for philosophical enlightenment that it just got boring for me after awhile. Sometimes it's fun to be sober while others are drunk, but I couldn't really feel the trippiness of what he was describing. Moreover, I didn't really get a sense of most of the characters as individuals, and even when I did, I felt no attachment to them whatsoever. I think that was the thing that bothered me most, I was just people watching. I did come to respect Giacco, the teller of this story, but it took a long time for me to tune into his feelings. It was all just so foreign to me.
Part of the problem, I will admit, was it took me about 2 years to read this book. I'm pretty sure, I don't actually remember when I bought it. I read it, it was flowing, you could easily go from one event to another, but not enjoying all the drugs and sex, nor the life decisions that Giacco made, I didn't feel anything pulling me back to read. So it was only when I literally had nothing else to read, I would turn on the Kindle for this. By that time, however, I had forgotten who the people were.
Giacco went from DC to NY to LA to SF where he joined up with the commune Hunga Dunga. When I realized he was going to stay at Hunga Dunga for awhile, and we'd get to know these people that the story became interesting. But I already didn't know who some of the people were by this point, and the problem with the Kindle version is that it wasn't formatted well. The author's name, the book title or random numbers would appear in the middle of sentences periodically. There were no chapters, so moving from one part of this long novel to another was difficult. I couldn't really flip back to figure out who Jon and Rosie were, or even who Michael was when they were reintroduced into the story, and going months in between reading meant I didn't recall them.
After being at Hunga Dunga for awhile, some of the characters took a trip around the world on a quest for spiritual enlightenment that put them in Hawaii, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Israel, Greece and the Netherlands. He was always meeting up with couples who loved him, who saw him as the missing third element in their lives. Sometimes they had children and he became like an uncle to the child, but it always ended up the same way. No matter what method he put in place to keep in contact, the line "after I left such and such place, I neither heard from or saw so and so again". This line showed up so many times that I started looking for it. I frankly wished the author would have left it out because I pretty much know when I leave people behind, I won't see them again. Or at least I did before the Internet, but there is no Internet or cell phones in this story.
There were a lot of serendipitous or coincidental little things that were almost funny in how they worked out, and this is where I figure the fiction comes in. It's kind of like Charles Dickens on a drug trip. The whole thing was just gliding, almost effortlessly, from one little adventure to the next. Car rides, plane rides, money...somehow it all seemed to work out. That was actually the point the author made several times, don't worry about your need in life and it will all come to you. Don't struggle, which is an Herculean effort sometimes.
It was during the trip around the world, then the subsequent return to Hunga Dunga where I realized I kind of liked Giacco. When he was skeptical of the gurus, I liked him more. Once they bought the land in Twisp, WA and started building and living on it, I found a serious sense of respect for his competence and hard work. The drug use and completely dissolute lifestyle seemed to lessen while there was more sex, and while those descriptions didn't really do anything for me, I could appreciate what they did for him. By the time I got to the end, which took place where it began, I felt like I liked Giacco and hoped his life worked out.
One last point: I really feel like this was a white person's book. There were no references to civil rights or anything going on there, and almost all the people in the book were white or Asian. I don't know if he meant to be colorblind or if this was just the typical flower child hippy of the 60's experience.
November 29, 2014
I have rarely read a book that was so conversational and engaging. Yes, it is replete with the drug use and sex one would expect from a novel about the "golden years of hippiedom," but Hunga Dunga is so much more. It is a book that obliterates the stigma hippies had to bear and tells the real story of what being a hippie was all about. Yes there was sex and drugs, but that is only dressing. Hunga Dunga requires a reader to understand the messages just under the outrageous shenanigans of a extraordinary commune and an extraordinary world traveler.
The title refers to a commune. It was multigenerational, with two elderly moms living communally with their children and one grand-child. Hunga Dunga was also the essence of a multi-ethnic and multi-racial "family" with blacks and latinos in the mix as well as many nationalities. It was also a nice blend of sexual orientations. I loved it that such a variety of people could live together in such harmony. The names of some people are mentioned who went on to become famous like Jon Waters, Sylvester, Alvoye, and Divine, Maxime. But their fame was yet to come. This was during a time when they were just part of the inter communal network in San Francisco.
Sometimes it reads like a "how to" book. Other times it was intensely sexually graphic, but hippies did not speak of sex or other bodily functions with anything other than blunt language, anatomically correct in every detail. Some readers might be uncomfortable, but hippies found nothing to be shy of when it came to bodily functions.
Most importantly to me, was the quest for a spiritual teacher. What an amazing and educational ride that was! And I did some research on my own and found that everything the author referenced was true... from the different "gurus" to the date on which a full moon occurred. I know that in the disclaimer at the beginning of the book, the author states that this is a work of fiction... but he does so with tongue in cheek, for I believe him when he says the more implausible something may sound, the more likely it is to be true. It is obvious to me, as flowing as the book is, the author researched everything. I found the book, crazy as it is, to be more non-fictional than fictional.
As someone else noted, reading Hunga Dunga is like being a fly on the inside of Giacco's brain. The reader is privy to his every thought and emotion. I found the author's first-person style intriguing and intimate. I never felt that I was an outsider looking in, but rather on the inside looking out on a world that proves to me the hippies WERE right all along. Hunga Dunga is like a recipe book of how we can resurrect the values we need to live as we move into the future. This is not an historical novel, but a guide to keep us on the path.
Hunga Dunga is simply amazing and one of the best books I've read in years. It flows so sweetly from one adventure to another, whether the adventure is a peyote trip, a three-way, or being in the presence of a a "holy" man. If you get tired of a sexual encounter or find it too graphic, turn a few pages and you'll be off on yet another incredible journey and more adventures. This book made me belly laugh, and cry and gave me a "contact" high throughout. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Probably the best book on the hippie movement ever! I can't thank the author enough for trying to set the record straight. Hippies were all about love, peace, respect for the earth, social and economic justice. Isn't that what we need right now?
Now, I will admit that I was not even born when this important part of our cultural history happened. But after reading Hunga Dunga, I feel that I did not miss out after all, because upon finishing the book, I felt that I had been there during those times all along. I did lend my copy of Hunga Dunga to my Dad, who WAS an outrageous hippie (turned corporate ladder climber).... and after finishing it, he told me this Polizatto guy got it right... he got it so right it he found it amazing anyone could capture the time as well as Hunga Dunga does! I overheard him talking to an old friend on the phone and all he could talk about was Hunga Dunga and to get it immediately!
The title refers to a commune. It was multigenerational, with two elderly moms living communally with their children and one grand-child. Hunga Dunga was also the essence of a multi-ethnic and multi-racial "family" with blacks and latinos in the mix as well as many nationalities. It was also a nice blend of sexual orientations. I loved it that such a variety of people could live together in such harmony. The names of some people are mentioned who went on to become famous like Jon Waters, Sylvester, Alvoye, and Divine, Maxime. But their fame was yet to come. This was during a time when they were just part of the inter communal network in San Francisco.
Sometimes it reads like a "how to" book. Other times it was intensely sexually graphic, but hippies did not speak of sex or other bodily functions with anything other than blunt language, anatomically correct in every detail. Some readers might be uncomfortable, but hippies found nothing to be shy of when it came to bodily functions.
Most importantly to me, was the quest for a spiritual teacher. What an amazing and educational ride that was! And I did some research on my own and found that everything the author referenced was true... from the different "gurus" to the date on which a full moon occurred. I know that in the disclaimer at the beginning of the book, the author states that this is a work of fiction... but he does so with tongue in cheek, for I believe him when he says the more implausible something may sound, the more likely it is to be true. It is obvious to me, as flowing as the book is, the author researched everything. I found the book, crazy as it is, to be more non-fictional than fictional.
As someone else noted, reading Hunga Dunga is like being a fly on the inside of Giacco's brain. The reader is privy to his every thought and emotion. I found the author's first-person style intriguing and intimate. I never felt that I was an outsider looking in, but rather on the inside looking out on a world that proves to me the hippies WERE right all along. Hunga Dunga is like a recipe book of how we can resurrect the values we need to live as we move into the future. This is not an historical novel, but a guide to keep us on the path.
Hunga Dunga is simply amazing and one of the best books I've read in years. It flows so sweetly from one adventure to another, whether the adventure is a peyote trip, a three-way, or being in the presence of a a "holy" man. If you get tired of a sexual encounter or find it too graphic, turn a few pages and you'll be off on yet another incredible journey and more adventures. This book made me belly laugh, and cry and gave me a "contact" high throughout. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Probably the best book on the hippie movement ever! I can't thank the author enough for trying to set the record straight. Hippies were all about love, peace, respect for the earth, social and economic justice. Isn't that what we need right now?
Now, I will admit that I was not even born when this important part of our cultural history happened. But after reading Hunga Dunga, I feel that I did not miss out after all, because upon finishing the book, I felt that I had been there during those times all along. I did lend my copy of Hunga Dunga to my Dad, who WAS an outrageous hippie (turned corporate ladder climber).... and after finishing it, he told me this Polizatto guy got it right... he got it so right it he found it amazing anyone could capture the time as well as Hunga Dunga does! I overheard him talking to an old friend on the phone and all he could talk about was Hunga Dunga and to get it immediately!
February 24, 2012
I'm still in the midst of reading this book. Not that it isn't a good read that keeps me interested, not at all. It just stimulates my mind and gets me thinking to that time in my life. I am about 10 years too young to be an authentic hippy, and I lived in a very conservative sheltered place. It's such a journey, maybe I am jealous? If you are curious as to how it really was, some of the coolest creativity and love, you need to read this book. You will be transported to a time and place that you heard about, this book will make you feel like they are your own memories.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews