The Drunken Spelunker's Guide to Plato by Kathy Guiffre

I picked up The Drunken Spelunker’s Guide to Plato because of its quirky title; I kept reading because of the inventive writing and engaging storyline.

Author Kathy Giuffre is a sociologist and professor specializing in social networks and cultural sociology, and has written a number of academic books on those topics. This, her first novel, combines Plato’s allegory of the cave from the Republic and stories from Greek mythology. This may seem a stretch for her, but personal networks and cultural norms are at the heart of this book.

Set before the advent of the internet, the social networks formed here are those among a group of outcasts in a small college town in the South. Feeling trapped in her small Appalachian town, young Josie hops a bus to nearby Waterville. Waterville is like any small college town, full of misfits, dreamers, drunks, and musicians, all converging at a dive bar called The Cavern Tavern, aka “The Cave.” Josie and her friends create a family of sorts as they navigate through life around the time of the first gulf war.

Each chapter is preceded by a portion of Plato’s allegory or a mythical tale that applies to the events that follow. In less talented hands, this could feel very heavy-handed or forced, but Giuffre winds them together with ease. It is easy to see Josie finding solace in these ancient stories reflecting the events of her own life. The Drunken Spelunker’s Guide to Plato tells a universal story of first love, loss, and redemption. It’s about the families we build for ourselves, pulling each other out of the darkness of the cave and into the light of day.

While the events of the story could easily make this book depressing, the characters (especially Josie) and their outlook on life make the book feel hopeful. As the book jacket says, “Just because we’re all prisoners in the cave doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.”

-Portia Kapraun