Geoff Clodd

Wild Oz: Hilariously Unfiltered Backpacking Stories by Geoff Clodd is a laugh-out-loud, unapologetically candid travel memoir that takes you on a wild journey through Australia and Thailand filled with misadventures, unforgettable characters, and sharp, self-deprecating humor. Clodd’s raw storytelling and comic escapades make this an entertaining and genuinely fun read for anyone who loves travel tales that lean more toward hilarity than polish.

I do not know exactly what I was expecting from Wild Oz but this turned out to be a much different adventure. I think the subtitle about backpacking made me think he would be roughing it a little more than he did in his Oz adventures. I also thought there would be more variation to his escapades, especially through Thailand. Australia was just a string of towns where Clodd got this drunk and banged that chick. His stories start and stop without fanfare. Like a giggling kid farting for show more attention Clodd will tell you about crashing his moped in Thailand or trying to eat a dozen ice cream cones. The year is 2008 and he has decided to travel with a friend to Australia and Thailand for a year or more.
As an aside, Clodd interrupts himself from time to time to tell Vegas stories. That makes sense because he sustained his meager financial existence on internet gambling. I have to admit the prostitute stealing a plate was pretty funny.
Sometimes I thought Wild Oz was written by a horny fourteen year old left alone in the house without his parents for the very first time. His command of slang was pretty extensive ("suck on that!"). Chasing temporary employment and bedding various women while juggling excessive drinking and drugging, Clodd was finicky about dirty hands and paranoid about skin cancer and going bald. I think I just summed up the entire book in this last paragraph. show less

I realize that the writer wrote that it was "unfiltered" - and that is not what bothered me about this memoir - it was more that nothing really happened - it was just the same thing over and over again. I did find it to be amusing in spots, while at the same time, it was also verging on incredibly shallow and disappointing. It actually made me feel a bit sad when I was reading it. I was hoping that it would be more about the writer's actual travels in Australia, but it largely consisted of show more the writer's quest for sex, and his drug and alcohol-fueled exploits that could have happened in any dull city in Canada or anywhere else for that matter. His descriptions of his constant quest for sex were depressing and it wasn't until the end of the memoir, that I started to like him more as a person, when he wrote a bit more about actual travel experiences. Had his memoir been more balanced and included some more travel-related writing, I would have found it more appealing. If you are looking for a memoir about sex and drugs, where women are mere objects to be conquered - then this memoir is for you. Unfortunately - it was not for me. show less

ARC Review: a quick read, the story of a Canadian’s year in Australia “backpacking”, which really means drink, drugs, sex, and a bit of work from time to time. Decently written, giving the feeling of being there with all the good and bad parts. If you’ve backpacked or wondered about it, this is an illustrative if extreme example.