This book is about the possibilities of love during the Green Revolution, which commences…now.

The Campbell Club is a ‘Campus Novel’ about a student housing co-op in Eugene, Oregon. It’s subtitled “An Historical Romance, 1985” because it is set 40 years ago, but this is also an homage to Richard Brautigan’s The Abortion: An Historical Romance, 1966, and the book is intended to have the same fun sense of gentle erotic exploration in a world that feels fresh and mysterious to young and improving, inquiring minds.

The protagonist, 22 year old Robert Gray, aka Sutra, wants normality back in his life after a stint at Rajneeshpuram (the intentional community branded a cult by the Establishment, now defunct.) A friend encourages him to return to school and complete his education as a path back into the world. But it’s not so obvious (at least to Sutra) that the world wants him back!

He discovers the Campbell Club is a cultural and spiritual microcosm of the wider world and falls under the spell of a dance major named Cindy Sterling. However, unable satisfy her, he gets some help in matters of the heart from an unlikely source.

We also meet some interesting characters: a quadriplegic who loves to gamble, a gentle giant architecture student who works nights at the infamous Riviera Club; and Sutra’s roommate Connor, who is the self-described king of the Ceramics shop. We get to meet Terry Bradman, the Achilles captain of the Ultimate Frisbee team, and Mike Dix, his erstwhile Patroclus.

Meanwhile as the terms go by the co-op is changing. New members bring chaos and threaten to disrupt everything The Campbell Club stands for, while old members including Cindy leave. The catalyst of this period of crisis is the mysterious “love drug” Ecstasy: so powerful it can alter personalities forever. Some, perhaps for the better; but there is danger and Sutra and his friends are playing with fire. As the situation spirals out of control, friendships are broken, love lost, and betrayal leads to disaster.

This is a fun read and at 75k words, an easy one. Buy it for a plane ride and have smiles all the way.

This book was written “by hand” not with AI. I wrote every word.