The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966

The book is the story of a guy who works at a bizarre library where strange people who can't get their books published bring their books to be registered and stored forever. One night, a girl comes in with a book about how she hates the attention her gorgeous body brings her; she and the main character have sex, become boyfriend and girlfriend, and she gets pregnant. They decide to get an abortion, and arrange to go to Mexico to do so. The book, although casual in its treatment of abortion--including fetuses being flushed down toilets--does meditate a little bit on what was being lost, when somehow the couple's aborted baby, all grown up, shows up one night with a book full of blank pages, pages never written on, pages she never had a chance to write on. (Richard Brautigan's ambivalence on this subject is also reflected in his poem "The Pill Versus the Springhill Mining Disaster," where he compares birth control and a fatal mine collapse, and says something like: "All those people...lost inside.") Richard Brautigan really is a funny guy, though. He's also very much a child of the 1960s, and both his humor and his sixties idealism come through strong in this book. The main girl has sex with someone she just met, gets an abortion, works at a topless place, and is perfectly happy. The main guy arranges the abortion, quits his job, lives off his girlfriend, and is perfectly happy. Politics aside, 1960s aside, this is an enjoyable read, though it ends on a somewhat disappointing note, and any suspense it maintains ends abruptly upon the couple's actual visit to the abortion doctor. I laughed uncomfortably several times while reading it, but would probably recommend "Trout Fishing in America" over this.

this book is my favorite book of all time. the subject matter is simple but the but the style of the writing is amazing and keeps your interest. the book is about a man who works and lives in a library and has lived there for a few years. the books contained in the library are written by random people who drop the books off when they are finished writing them. eventualy the character meets a beautiful insecure woman who he falls in love with. she later becomes pregnant and they end up on a trip to mexico to get an abortion. i know it does not sound that exciting but i swear the writing and the characters make the book truely enjoyable.

Richard Brautigan's writing speaks directly to my soul. I cannot read more than a line or two of his prose without getting the eerie feeling that if I could somehow magically distill my feelings to their perfect essence (which is far beyond my abilities) the result would still fall far short of the understanding of who I am, so effortlessly expressed in his stories. I have never read an author whose writing more poignantly captured such overpowering feelings of love, isolation, and (perhaps frighteningly) understanding. I cannot recommend this book (or any of Brautigan's books) highly enough. I would have given it 25 stars, if it had been possible.

This is one of the best works of Richard Brautigan. One day a man who lives in a unique library meets a girl who has perfect beauty, and a strange love story starts off. The plain and beautiful style, which has influenced Raymond Carver, is easy to read, but what it says is never a simple matter: this book is written about the loneliness that everyone who lives in this modern world has. But you needn't worry that you'll get depressed after you read this. I assure you that, instead, you'll feel a gentle optimism at the end of the novel.

This book is pure beauty with all the graphic descriptions. pure brillance......