I’ve just read this review (link above), and I agree largely with it. I didn’t find this a surrealistist representation of life at the time either. Aspects of the story were all all too familiar and real to me. I don’t believe this is in any way a reflection on Otago/Dunedin or a reason to disuade someone from going to the university there however. It’s more a reflection of the kind of people some young adults find themselves becoming. For some, growing up is no picnic.
A review of Carl Shuker’s Lazy Boys