Books

The Scooter Chronicles: A Southern California Modyssey

The Scooter Chronicles: A Southern California Modyssey
The Scooter Chronicles: A Southern California Modyssey
Note that I independently write and research everything in this article. But it may contain affiliate links.

Thanks to Mark for letting me know about this new book, going by the title of The Scooter Chronicles: A Southern California Modyssey.

Interesting as it’s a new piece of mod fiction and interesting too because it isn’t another one set in 1960s London. Far from it.

This book by Shahriar Fouladi is about the Southern California mod scene in the mid-1980s.

What’s it about? Well, this is the synopsis:

During the So-Cal mod revival of the mid-1980s, one teen’s simple quest to buy a Vespa is about to turn into an absolute nightmare.

It’s 1985, and to say Tommy Daniels is mod-obsessed is no understatement: buying a scooter is the ultimate goal of his young life. When he hits the road on his search, it will be the strangest, most shocking three days imaginable, and he’ll encounter a host of colourful characters, including a jerk cop and the mod girl of his dreams, but nothing’s going to stand in his way. His is a story of wanting something so badly, you’ll put everything on the line to get it. Along the way, each chapter introduces a soundtrack song from Tommy’s mod mixtape.

Not just the story, also included here is ‘It’s a Way of Life,’ an essay about the mod revival in 1980s Southern California by Bart Mendoza, lead singer of the band Manual Scan, a noted music journalist, and a prime player in the San Diego mod scene. In fact, Mark says he was ‘truly everywhere back in the day’.

Finishing things off is a colour image section featuring ‘some prime mod moments in California from the 1980s’, as well as acclaimed artist Ralph Cosentino’s cover for Dr. Harvey’s Victor the Vespa, the fictional book written by a character in the story.

If you fancy it, the book is out now, selling for £11.12 in the UK or $13.48 in the US. links to both below.

Find out more about the book at the Amazon UK website

Find out more about the book at the Amazon US website

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