I really did not think much of this book when I read it, and I guess I read it expecting it to be about hit men. It wasn't. It is interesting that the subtitle on Facebook refers to it as 'a shocking novel of today'. I do not think it is, but I write this now having just watched Easy Rider and I guess this book gives a more conservative view of the counter culture and I do not think Kazan is all that supportive of it.
Cesario Flores is member of the US Airforce, and a very conservative individual, and when his daughter, Juana, sleeps with one of the local counter cultural teenagers, he takes the law into his own hands and kills him. Most of the book is about his trial and the reaction of the leader of the teenagers, one Michael Winter, to the murder. Cesario is acquitted of the murder, despite the fact that he did it intentionally and in cold blood. He then goes on with his life.
The opposite happens to Michael Winter. While he is a member of the counter culture, Kazan portrays him as a loser whose life descends into a spiral of destruction, which results in him leaving the country. He is not portrayed in a pretty light and ends up wondering South America, lost and alone. He is unable to really fit in anywhere.
Kazan is probably right in portraying the drug culture as ultimately destructive. The truth is that nothing good really ever comes from such a culture, and to be blunt, alcohol is no better. While the difference between alcohol and drugs is that one can have a drink and be still in full control of their faculties, this is not the case with drugs, and many people who get caught up in the drug culture end up wasting their lives. It might seem fun for a while, but the after effects are not. As Michael says in the book when he drops acid 'I feel that I can be myself under this'. Well, you're not yourself, you are affected by drugs, and you will probably end up doing something you will regret.
However murder is still murder, and we simply cannot go and take the law into our own hands. If we did then society will simply collapse. We may not like the counter-culture, and yes it may hurt when our children drift over into it, but instead of meeting it with violence, we must accept that this is going to happen, and when they come running back to us, knowing that they have done wrong, then we must be there to take them back, much like the parable of the prodigal son. As Jesus says, we have all sinned and turned away from God, but God is standing there, waiting for us to return to him, and the offer is only open for a short time. We need to strike while the iron is hot. ( )