Its been quite a while since I’ve discussed a book on the website. The problem has not been that I’m not reading, but rather that I have been too lazy to write anything about the books I read. I aim to rectify this problem right now:
Downtown Owl: A Novel by Chuck Klosterman is not the most recent book I’ve read. It also is not the least recent book I’ve read and not written a post about. So you might be asking yourself: Why pick this book? Well, apparently I’ve been obsessed with the great state of North Dakota this week. So in honor of that trend: Downtown Owl is set in a small North Dakota city. But wait. You should still read it.
From the publisher’s blurb:
Somewhere in North Dakota, there is a town called Owl that isn’t there. Disco is over, but punk never happened. They don’t have cable. They don’t really have pop culture, unless you count grain prices and alcoholism. People work hard and then they die. They hate the government and impregnate teenage girls. But that’s not nearly as awful as it sounds; in fact, sometimes it’s perfect.
Mitch Hrlicka lives in Owl. He plays high school football and worries about his weirdness, or lack thereof. Julia Rabia just moved to Owl. She gets free booze and falls in love with a self-loathing bison farmer who listens to Goats Head Soup. Horace Jones has resided in Owl for seventy-three years. He consumes a lot of coffee, thinks about his dead wife, and understands the truth. They all know each other completely, except that they’ve never met. (Links Added).
So the book is a story about a small town in a small state. I grew up in ND, but I have no ideas what its like to live in a small city like Owl. Fargo is not huge, but the difference between a population of 100,000 and 800 seems substantial to me. So while I doubt Klosterman has the most realistic view of small town life, his life experience in the subject greatly outweighs mine, so I will defer. The book’s plot centers around a 1984 blizzard which killed people around the state because of its sudden development and follows three people’s lives before, up to, and after the blizzard.
Overall I thought the book was good, especially for a first novel. But it could have been much better if the characters either would have differed to a greater degree, or were developed to a greater degree. That being said, I was invested in each of the main characters storyline and I literally felt bad for each character’s plight. If you want to read about what it means to be “normal” this book is for you as each of the characters struggles with what it means to be normal.
Overall, I thought the book was a good read and have already recommended it to a couple of friends. Has anyone else read this book? Are Klosterman’s other books worth reading?
[Chuck Klosterman has also authored Of Fargo Rock City; Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs; and Killing Yourself To Live. And he also is a columnist for Esquire and has written for GQ, Spin, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Believer, and ESPN.]
I've read Fargo Rock City. I really liked it. Although I'm not from ND, I'm guessing I could relate to that book better than you would because I'm from a small, rural town and I'm about the same age as Chuck. Fargo Rock City could have been written about my high school.
That's a long-winded way of saying I really liked it but you might not. I liked it based on how it related to my life.
Thank for the intel. I'm pretty sure I'm going to read it soon. I've generally heard that its good, and that's good enough for me. Plus I have your recommendation now too.