Bohemia by Veronika Carnaby

In her debut novel, Veronika Carnaby picks up where the Beat Generation left off. Set in 1960, Bohemia chronicles a group of twenty-somethings who defy the "ideals" of a mid-twentieth century society to seek creative fulfillment. In the process, they spotlight the creative path that artists of all mediums tread, all the while depicting the challenges faced by youth in the decade that changed the world.

If you’re into all things Bohemian this is the perfect book for you. And it’s not just because the story follows a group of self-proclaimed bohemians around, no, it’s also because of the novel’s actual vibe. It’s a relaxed read that will put most readers at ease.

The cast of characters is large and vivacious. All of them have their own personalities and, I was happy to see, they do all “grow” by the end of the novel. Sometimes when you have a few protagonists, some of them get forgotten somewhere along the line, but in this case, they all managed to reach a satisfying, personal conclusion.

The writing, as I said, is relaxed. There’s a nice freshness to the voice. There are things to fix, of course, some structural issues that made the reader have to backtrack a bit to understand what was happening, but it’s not enough to mess with the rest of the positive things.

If you like all things of the hippie era, then this one is probably right for you!