Downtown Owl

Seinfeld-esque

If you are looking for a novel with a beginning,a middle and an end that leaves you feeling your main characters have resolved a problem or grown in the course of the story's events, then this book is not for you. Simply put, this is three separate slice-of-life stories running concurrently about three individuals and an interesting cast of secondary characters who all happen to live in a very small town called Owl, North Dakota. It offers an inside glimpse of how narrow life can be in a small town when some little thing you said or did at one insignificant moment in your life becomes the standard by which you are defined for the rest of it. The novel is hilarious and sad, pointed and pointless--and something I could not put down. Interestingly, everyone seems to know everything about everyone in Owl, but only superficially. The problem is that superficial knowledge is all that matters in Owl. What I was left with at the end was the question, and the question is this: Is it better to be defined and remembered (probably incorrectly) for one single incident in your life, or not to be remembered at all?

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Klosterman's first novel is pretty much truth!

I always read Klosterman's work with great intersest. I've always felt that his essays are either right on, or pretentious and reaching. When I found out that he was writing his first novel about small town North Dakota life, I was greatly intrigued. I know it's where he came from, and since I came from there as well... I felt I could be a fair judge. What success! It's like he took notes on my life and wove them into characters. The most accurate descriptions come as he describes the feeling of being a small town quarterback. This novel made me appreciate Chuck Klosterman more than I ever thought I would. A great book, by an even greater observer!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My man crush with Chuck Klosterman

If you liked gonzo journalism and new styles of creative writing then you would probably like this book that Chuck has written along with some of his other interesting books, like Killing Yourself To Live: 85% a True Story being my favorite one. Well today I found out his new book Downtown Owl has been released so I rushed out like a little school girl to go get it. All of his previous work is about pop-culture and his own twist on it and a lot of it being about about music and musicians. Downtown Owl though is Chucks' first novel and doesn't quite carry the same tone as his other books do because of it being a novel rather than a review or self reflection. It probably relates to his life in one way or another as the story takes place in his home state and in a small town that may or may not be similair to the one he grew up and describes in Fargo Rock City. Anyways, the story in Downtown Owl has nothing directly related to music in it (at least for the first 60 pages) and it's about a high school football player (that has goth fantasies and sadistic dreams of torturing his coach/english teacher), a young female history teacher from Milwakee that just smokes the remainder of her pot and turns into a bar fluzee, and an old man that sits around at a local coffee shop with a group of other old men and play poker dice to determine who gets the tab (old man is my favorite character). Anyways, if you've read this much about my little man crush on C. Klosterman then I think you'd definitily enjoy these books. If not the new novel that was just released may I suggest the rest of his books in this order: Killing Yourself to Live, Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Fargo Rock City, and IV.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great

Extremely entertaining and funny. Most of the time i cannot put it down. Definately worth the money im extremely happy with it.

Great read

It took me a few pages to warm up to the book, but once I did I couldn't put it down. This is my first book by this author and now I can't wait to move onto his other works. The ending was slightly infuriating but also perfect. I know I'll go back to this book again and again. I highly recomend the book and the author.

Ridiculous mess

I was excited about this book, small town drama is usually fairly entertaining, but this book honestly had no point whatsoever. I kept reading night after night thinking ok, tonight will be the night where it makes sense as to why a person would bother writing the stories of these characters. Each time, I was disappointed. As other people have mentioned, there are three main characters, none of whom actually do anything. There are some good one liners in the book, but that is about all this book has going for it. The ending, ridiculous as it was, couldn't come soon enough. Sorry Mr. Klosterman.

Klosterman Attempts Fiction

I have read Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman. Now I will a) write a review of it here and b) attempt to write said review in the style of Chuck Klosterman. When I picked up this book I was (mostly) excited to read a new work by Mr. Klosterman though (somewhat) apprehensive about his taking on of the fiction novel genre. I was 85% happy with the final outcome.

This is my review. My review is this. After having read his first published stab at fiction in the form of a short story in Chuck Klosterman IV I didn't believe he could really make me enjoy a full scale novel. I was wrong. Downtown Owl was pretty good. Klosterman sticks to what he knows. Pop culture observations this time done through the eyes of ficticious characters. So even if the book is not a literary masterpiece, it still is an honest solid work by the well established author.

My biggest qualm with the story (and it's not a major point of contention) is that on the whole the story seemed to lack a point. We follow three different characters from the same small rural town of OWL living three different kinds of existences but never crossing each others paths. A sort of three seperate stories united and seperate at the same time. The ending was paradoxically unnecessary and necessary at the same. The ending is truely the part of the book that warrants discussion and debate.

All in all another good (and different) effort by Chuck Klosterman. I look foreward to his next book.

dramatic Change in Klosterman's work

This is a well written book. The 3 main characters are well developed as are the supporting characters. There are many lines in the book you will enjoy sharing if you read this in a book club. The plot is not a very concrete one. I didn't know where the story was going and it didn't really go anywhere. This will be fine for many people. This book should not be read by those who read for escapism, though.
If you have some decent disposable income, go ahead and buy it.

Great portrayal of small town life

I read some critics who think that Klosterman should stick to pop culture, but I thought that this book perfectly captured the characters you meet and the general eccentricities of living in a small town.

Owl, North Dakota. Population 850

Is there anything original to say about small-town life in the 1980's? Author Chuck Klosterman thinks so, and in his first novel he says it through the stories of three residents of this undistinguished farming town.

High school senior Mitch Hrlika (who earned the nickname "Vanna White" when he said his name needs more vowels) plays football, though not as well as his twelve-year old sister, and hates rock music. He spends his time cruising up and down the six blocks of Owl with his friends and wondering why he feels so alienated. New teacher Julia Rabia spends her nights in bars and learns that a new single woman in a small town has lots of friends and never has to buy her own drinks. The elderly widower Horace Jones meets his friends in a coffee shop six afternoons a week and wonders if his life would have been different--better--if he'd been the right age to go to war, any war.

DOWNTOWN OWL starts with a news story about a deadly winter wind storm in February 1984, and then steps back to August 1983. The short chapters cycle through these three Owlites' POV, with the occasional section focusing on a minor character. Nothing much happens--all the high school students are reading Orwell's 1984 and trying to understand "dystopia," Julia falls for a buffalo farmer who is the only man in town not trying to date her, Horace squirms at the memory of his deepest, darkest secret. We wonder how these three will fare when the storm strikes; Mr. Klosterman doesn't disappoint us when he finishes the book with the huge, unprecedented storm.

I listened to the audio book of DOWNTOWN OWL and it was a good choice. The three characters' sections were each read by a different performer; even though the writing was not in the first person, I was amazed at how well the narrators were able to convey the sense of the characters, making me feel as if I "knew" them. The book is full of references to 1980's music, movies and sports (not surprising since Chuck Klosterman is well-known as a cultural essayist in those fields). Halfway through the first CD, I was hooked.even though I don't expect to trade ANY of my treasured paper-and-ink books for audio.

Mr. Klosterman has a great ear for dialogue and his characters are brilliant. He captures the fishbowl nature of small-town life perfectly with what might be called a series of sketches. As much as I enjoyed these aspects of the book, I did note the lack of a plot in the usual sense. I'm taking off one star for this since I like a novel to have a well-laid-out plot, but happily giving four stars for the great writing and humor. I may even try a few more audio books someday after this enjoyable "listen."

Reviewed by:
Betty Dravis
Author of Dream Reachers (with Chase Von)

Great Book

I have recently been reading a lot of books and this book is one of my new favorites. It was hard to put it down at night. Great Book!

MUST READ THIS WITTY PAGE-TURNER!

Chuck Klosterman has magnificently written an engaging novel about 'normal' life in the small town of Owl, North Dakota. This captivating story begins with a brief news article about a deadly blizzard that strikes the area. As the tale unfolds, three very different townspeople are introduced. Cleverly told in alternating narratives, each describes the reality of their daily life. As a result, what they give are three distinct, insightful viewpoints of the same small town. Mr. Klosterman does a brilliant job crafting the unique characters and I quickly became enthralled by these individuals and their perspectives. I was delightfully drawn into their lives and began feeling a rapport with their reality. Being so deeply engrossed, I actually forgot about the impending blizzard! Therefore, the poignant ending took me by complete surprize! I really, truly loved this fascinating page-turner. It got me thinking about the concept of 'normal' and what it really means. Also, there were many laugh-out-loud moments. One of my favorites is a supporting character by the name of Marvin Windows. Everyone who lives in North Dakota/Minnesota knows that Marvin Windows is a very large window manufacturer in NW Minnesota, near the North Dakota border!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS READ!

Typical Klosterman, in novel form

Look, if you like how Klosterman writes, you'll like this book. You'll chuckle at his veiled references to music and 80s pop culture, which you've read about in "Fargo Rock City" and "Killing Yourself to Live." Assuming you've read his other books and essays, you'll nod knowingly to his previous discussions of what it's like to grow up in North Dakota. If you don't know Klosterman's work and you grew up in a small town in the Midwest in the 80s, this book is probably for you as well.

Not out yet, but...

Chuck is a comfort, and I think that's why people enjoy reading about his views and his life. When he wrote about goths at Disney land it helped me get through a torturous time I was spending in Orlando, god help me. He does and says what people are usually to afraid to, brilliant man. I think people are too critical over his work, I frankly would love him to keep writing till he's a bitter-er old man. Keep it up.

Protentious Fluff

There is no mind or matter incorporated into this work of fiction. It is obvious Chuck didn't take to much time trying to find an original concept for his themes in this novel. It reads just like 'Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs', except with a whole handful of badly developed characters thrown into the pot. The ending of the book is a poor attempt at a Scorsese-esque build up, that fails worse than a Carrot Top production.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.