Legendary director and MFF Board Member John Waters will be releasing his seventh book tomorrow, “Carsick” (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, $26), which chronicles his cross-country hitchhiking adventure from Baltimore to San Francisco. Click here to pre-purchase your very own copy from Atomic Books – signed by John Waters!
Also, be sure to check out the “Carsick” book release party and signing at Atomic Books (located at 3620 Falls Road in Hampden) on Thursday, June 12th at 7pm! Click here for event information.
“Carsick” Synopsis:
A cross-country hitchhiking journey with America’s most beloved weirdo.
John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads “I’m Not Psycho,” he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and treacherous drivers. But who should we be more worried about, the delicate film director with genteel manners or the unsuspecting travelers transporting the Pope of Trash?
Before he leaves for this bizarre adventure, Waters fantasizes about the best and worst possible scenarios: a friendly drug dealer hands over piles of cash to finance films with no questions asked, a demolition-derby driver makes a filthy sexual request in the middle of a race, a gun-toting drunk terrorizes and holds him hostage, and a Kansas vice squad entraps and throws him in jail. So what really happens when this cult legend sticks out his thumb and faces the open road? His real-life rides include a gentle eighty-one-year-old farmer who is convinced Waters is a hobo, an indie band on tour, and the perverse filmmaker’s unexpected hero: a young, sandy-haired Republican in a Corvette.
Laced with subversive humor and warm intelligence, “Carsick” is an unforgettable vacation with a wickedly funny companion-and a celebration of America’s weird, astonishing, and generous citizenry.
Two springs ago, Baltimore’s most unrepentant degenerate set out on a mission of discovery. Beginning on Charles Street, not far from his home, Waters would hitchhike all the way to his San Francisco condo, following Interstate 70 most of way. There would be little in the way of advance planning; he’d be relying totally on his thumb and the kindness of strangers.”
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