Now for something completely different--Drop City by T. C. Boyle.  Hippie commune in N. California gets the boot from the local authorities, scores an old school bus and heads for Alaska where the head man has inherited some land and a cabin in the bush.  After many misadventures, some interesting run-ins with the locals and a semi-idyllic summer hangin' out, sex, drugs, rock&roll and living off the fat o' the land, harsh reality in the form of winter, not to mention some deteriorating interpersonal relationships, sets in.  It's entertaining and I got the impression the author had been there and done that.   

Then there's The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which is a real mind-bender--in a parallel universe the Jews are driven out of Israel by the Arabs in the early 1950's and end up settling en masse in SW Alaska and forming a basically autonomous culture and society.  The whole scene is viewed through the eyes of a shamus, a classic hard-boiled jewish detective who is on the skids when he gets involved in a murder case.  Has to be read to be believed--highly recommended.