Los Angeles without a Map. First Printing

Rayner, Richard

ISBN 10: 0436405504 / ISBN 13: 9780436405501

Published by London. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, 1988

About this Item

London. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd. 1988. First Edition. First Printing. No later dates shown on copyright page. Hard Cover. Medium 8vo 9½" x 6  [24cm x 15cm] approx. 186 pp. Black and white illustrations in the text by Huntley and Muir. Condition of book is as new. Pictorial dust jacket with wraparound design. Tiny crease at head of spine but essentially fine. Illustration continues to the front flap. Debut from the author. 'I met her in a bar and knew i was in trouble' - so opens Richard Rayners's memoir. Rayners's in love. He flies from London to Los Angeles in search of Barbara, America, and adventure. The jacket will be covered with an inert archival protective sleeve which is removable. Please contact us if you would like any more information or additional photographs.

Seller Inventory # YR3SEP22014

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Los Angeles without a Map. First Printing
• Publisher: London. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd
• Publication Date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0436405504
• ISBN 13: 9780436405501
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

When Londoner Richard Rayner encounters Barbara, he is determined to go to any lengths to possess her, and abandoning everything, he travels to Los Angeles where he searches her out amongst the glitter of the film capital

Review

An autobiographical cult travelogue first published in 1988 and turned into a movie 10 years later, Los Angeles Without a Map sees Richard Rayner leave his long-term girlfriend and steady job back in London to fly on a whim to track down Barbara, a bunny girl, athlete and party head. The plot is set for a good outsider tale with a rather straight Englishman pursuing the affections of an American wild child in an environment that puts him at a distinct disadvantage. Despite having steeped himself in American culture since boyhood he has never been to the USA. Add to that the lack of a driving licence--not a useful situation to be in in the city of freeways and boulevards.

Rayner's easy-going prose style and self-deprecatory humour mean that this 186-page book rarely goes off the boil. As in so many films about the city, however, the city is the star. Rayner attempts to come to terms with the city by living out his movie fantasies, but doesn't explore the themes of decadence, insanity and violence which have so much to do with LA's make-up. At times Rayner's writing tends towards the stereotypical--thin on local detail and populated by predictable peripheral characters, from bodybuilders and religious freaks to a James Dean fanatic and a struggling scriptwriter. Those who are as obsessed as Rayner with the workings of the movie industry may also want to consult movies that cover the same material, like Barton Fink and The Player. --Tim Perry