The Camel Lounge

It's the era of drugs, sex, and rock-and-roll. And the Viet Nam war. Billy Matson wants to avoid being drafted so he can become an English teacher, returning to his high school alma mater in Crossroads, Wyoming. Crossroads might look like an idyllic small town, but it has strong undercurrents of racism and bigotry--poisons that destroy. In this romp through 1967-1970, Billy takes us on a first person journey of intense love affairs with his beautiful Jewish girl friend, Gisha Levin and with another woman, Marie Archer, someone who once loved Billy's boyhood idol, his older cousin Cody who has left for the Viet Nam war. Gisha has plans to be an English teacher, too, but her plans are twisted with a desire for revenge against Crossroads' powerful and wealthy men. When Billy and Gisha become teachers at Crossroads High School, they are the center of attention in a drama equal to Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. The Camel Lounge is a stream of consciousness novel with biting dialogue and emotional depth. It secures R. A. Isojoki as a multi-talented writer.