- a novel by Tanya Coad
Love Haight '69
a novel
by Tanya Coad
1969:
San Francisco is the epicenter of all things hip . . . at least according to Tula, a young girl arriving from Canada, obsessed with becoming a flower child, and searching for love in the Haight-Ashbury’s fading counterculture.
When an ad in a local underground newspaper inspires her to join a community effort to transform a UC Berkeley-owned lot into a “people’s park,” Tula gets her first taste of activism while falling for a charismatic, politically-savvy grad student. Caught between worlds, she tries to balance the hippies’ laidback lifestyle with the protest movement’s determination to save the planet. Another little piece of her heart is stolen by the sexy lead singer of a hot new British rock band that passes through town. Throw in a trip to Altamont to see the Rolling Stones, and you’ve got a year no teenager could easily forget.
A rarified post-Summer of Love climate frames the dynamic backdrop for what is a poignant, and often funny, coming-of-age love story. It’s Santana, Moby Grape, and the Grateful Dead - Bill Graham’s Fillmore West in its heyday. It’s Berkeley agitators, Haight-Ashbury freaks, and a Ronald Reagan-regulated mainstream, all struggling to coexist within the close confines of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Love Haight '69 is Tanya Coad’s first novel. This ode to the sixties paints an experience that is authentic, rich in detail, and delves beyond the usual clichés of what was one of the most exciting chapters in modern day American history.
Key Characters
Key Characters
Tula:
A teenager from Vancouver who thinks the grass in San Francisco is a whole lot greener. Her goal is to find a hippie boyfriend and save the world… in that order.
Rainbow Man:
The sagely musician/yoga instructor who introduces Tula to the Pink Palace - a grand, old Victorian home that is inhabited by an ecclectic group of oddballs.
Mama June & Papa Joe:
Tula’s landlords are a couple of counterculture originals who live simply, offer guidance, and embody what is best about the Haight-Ashbury.
Tyler:
Tula’s scatting, rock star-wannabe housemate across the hall who shares her music addiction and works with her at the Rabbit Hutch - a hip health food store in the heart of the Haight.
Richard:
A charming political science major, nine years Tula’s senior, who sweeps her off her feet while introducing her to the protest movement.
Rowan:
A charismatic, up-and-coming rock star who Tula meets by chance in Golden Gate Park. She catches his eye. He steals her heart.
Elina & Phil:
This uninhibited Los Angeles couple are enthusiastic proponents of the Sexual Revolution, and - like Richard - are also firm believers in mind expansion through drugs.
Daisy (“the Mouse”):
A frightened young girl who lives as a shut-in in the attic above Tula’s room. She hasn’t set foot outside her bedroom in over a year, and no one is sure why.