As the author of four iconic works of nonfiction, including the instant classic Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman has earned a well-deserved cult following. With his first novel, Downtown Owl, he seamlessly translates his habitual interests and obsessions—music, death, drugs, romantic longing, small Midwestern towns, transcendent sports moments, and random theories about pretty much everything—into fictional form.
Set in Owl, a small North Dakota town, over the course of several months in the summer, fall, and winter of 1984, Downtown Owl is told from the perspective of five of the town’s inhabitants. Mitch Hrlinka is a sweet-natured high-school football player who’ll never be quarterback because he “was not clutch. Nobody said this but everybody knew.” Julia Rabia, a pothead and transplant from relatively urbane Milwaukee, is the new high-school social studies teacher, to whom “the overtly idyllic nature of Owl seemed paradoxically menacing…like a Burmese tiger trap for apolitical strangers who needed uninteresting jobs.” Horace Jones is a decent and thoughtful elderly widower, whose “life revolved around coffee. It was central to his existence. He was that kind of person.” He drinks it with other old men for a social life and alone for comfort. John Laidlaw, Mitch’s football coach, is “a pheasant hunter, a two-pack-a-day smoker, a notorious cheapskate, a deeply closeted atheist, and an outspoken libertarian.” He was “also an English teacher, and—were it not for his preoccupation with” luring female students into “his powder-blue Caprice Classic—he might have been among the best educators in the entire state of North Dakota.” Cubby Candy, who narrates only briefly, but illuminatingly, is the misunderstood town bully.
Klosterman weaves these characters into an entertaining narrative that showcases a meticulous attention to detail and a relentless commitment to locating the offbeat and abnormal with the normal daily routine. Although Klosterman occasionally hits a false note, his story rings true.
Click here to visit Chuck Klosterman on MySpace.
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TH3 J0K3R [pa-TROLL-in] |
November 13, 2008yeah entertainmentIM GETTING TIRED OF INTERNET PORN!!!! HAHAHAA |
The ORIGINAL Cup of Joe |
November 10, 2008new booksbut get some really controversial ones i need entertainment |
Orgasmic AhDumb |
November 06, 2008donenew books please. |
The ORIGINAL Cup of Joe |
October 30, 2008retracting my previous statementit would appear i was quick to talk yet not so on the thinking part. Suey is indeed a very gorgeous looking girl not to mention wise for her young age. |
"The Instant Classic" Big Dick Dastardly |
October 30, 2008I take it back.The new picture of Suey is much better. She's actually kind of cute. This book still fucking sucks though. |
The Grimm Ripper (PWNING and pa-TROLL-ing) |
October 27, 2008iCHOP SUEY HAHAHAHAHAHA |
Orgasmic AhDumb |
October 22, 2008Guys, I think you should go easier on SueyI mean, it kinda sounds like she's on our side. |
The ORIGINAL Cup of Joe |
October 21, 2008shes prettymanlybut id hit it.....with a bus |
"The Instant Classic" Big Dick Dastardly |
October 20, 2008Suey is a girl????!!!!!! Hell no, I hope that isn't true. |
The Grimm Ripper (PWNING and pa-TROLL-ing) |
October 20, 2008hahahagreed my giveafuckometer is reading zero as well |
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