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tiareleine's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it a lot... until I didn’t. The threads never really came together. What did the three main characters have to do with each other? Apparently nothing. What was I supposed to take away from this book? Nothing, as far as I can tell. What was the point? I don’t think there was one. Nothing got resolved, not anything with Mitch or Julia or Horace, not anything with John Laidlaw, not anything with Naomi and Ted (Tod? I can’t remember).
Good thing I bought this from a HPB Outlet for $3 and didn’t really expect anything out of it. If I had had expectations, I would have been disappointed.
Good thing I bought this from a HPB Outlet for $3 and didn’t really expect anything out of it. If I had had expectations, I would have been disappointed.
kaylaogle's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book in high school, and I remember loving it then and I still loved it just as much. Being from a small town I was able to relate to many of the sentiments expressed in this book: What's it like to live somewhere else? Why does everyone care so much about such seemingly mean less things? This book is so heartbreaking and wonderful at once.
conor_macritchie's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
egoubet's review against another edition
4.0
May 2016: I love all of Klosterman's work and this did not disappoint. I was pleasantly surprised by how different this was from most of his other writing - including his other novel "The Invisible Man."
I was also pleasantly surprised by how interesting a book about a small town in North Dakota could be...but he managed to do it and even make it a book I couldn't put down.
This was a book where I got engrossed in the characters and was sad upon turning the last page, wishing there could have been a hundred pages more.
November 2021: did not enjoy as much this time around. Changing from 5 to 4 stars.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how interesting a book about a small town in North Dakota could be...but he managed to do it and even make it a book I couldn't put down.
This was a book where I got engrossed in the characters and was sad upon turning the last page, wishing there could have been a hundred pages more.
November 2021: did not enjoy as much this time around. Changing from 5 to 4 stars.
ollypommedeterre's review against another edition
3.0
This book was honestly better than I expected. A good read about small town living (which he nails) and about people who let life happen to them rather than be proactive. I didn't necessarily bond with any of the characters and a couple of the plot lines were a bit gratuitous, but on the whole it was entertaining and thought provoking. It really made you think about how much of the stuff that shapes our lives we just let happen to us, rather than actively try to write the script ourselves. It's easy to sit back and say "well there's nothing I can do," but that's rarely the case (for privileged people at least.) Our stories get written either way—this book points out that you're able to influence it more than you think, or you'll suffer the consequences (both awful and mundane) for letting someone else concoct it for you.
jwmcoaching's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little iffy on this one when I first started it. I really enjoyed Klosterman's Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and I like his writing that he's done for Spin and The Onion . I just wasn't sure that he would be able to pull off a novel very well since he's essentially a chronicler of pop culture. I have to say, I was completely mistaken. Although there isn't an abundance of plot here, this is a really well done character study of three people living in a tiny North Dakota town and it chronicles roughly six months of their lives. It's not gripping because of the plot, but it is a real page-turner because the writing is so engaging and well-done.
jfranco77's review against another edition
3.0
Klosterman has always been a tough guy for me to read. We're close in age, and we have a lot of the same interests, so he's someone that I really should like. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I can barely tolerate him.
Downtown Owl is his first attempt at a novel, though it's still pretty non-fictional, given how much it is based on where and when he grew up. Klosterman spends about 80% of the book setting things up for the anticipated snowstorm, and the setup is pretty interesting. He takes his time describing the characters well. And then the last 20% of the book, the actual snowstorm, comes quickly and feels rushed. Maybe that's intentional - it could be compared to the suddenness of the actual storm - but it felt more like Klosterman got to the point where he needed to wrap things up quickly, so he did.
Downtown Owl was a fine airplane read, but other than raving fans of Klosterman, I'm not sure who I'd really recommend it to.
Downtown Owl is his first attempt at a novel, though it's still pretty non-fictional, given how much it is based on where and when he grew up. Klosterman spends about 80% of the book setting things up for the anticipated snowstorm, and the setup is pretty interesting. He takes his time describing the characters well. And then the last 20% of the book, the actual snowstorm, comes quickly and feels rushed. Maybe that's intentional - it could be compared to the suddenness of the actual storm - but it felt more like Klosterman got to the point where he needed to wrap things up quickly, so he did.
Downtown Owl was a fine airplane read, but other than raving fans of Klosterman, I'm not sure who I'd really recommend it to.
lindage's review against another edition
2.0
I think it's time for me to give up on Klosterman. His writing is just not for me. This was an easy read/listen but the characters fell flat, were mostly annoying, uninteresting (except for Horace, at points) and they had no journeys, emotional or otherwise. I thought it was all a slow-build towards something, but there was nothing there, in the end.
kelseyreadingstuff's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book! I don't know what I thought about the ending. I think it might have been unnecessary, but at the same time, I liked it. I also love when a book is so character driven! I could totally relate too, coming from such a small town in Wisconsin.
"I just think it's idiotic that we don't get mail today, simply because Columbus was a bad explorer. You do realize he discovered America by accident, right? He thought the Indians were pygmies."
"Why do we get out of bed?" Mitch wondered. "Is there any feeling better than being in bed? What could possibly feel better than this? What is going to happen in the course of my day that will be an improvement over lying on something very soft, underneath something very warm, wearing only underwear, doing absolutely nothing, all by myself?" Every day, Mitch awoke to this line of reasoning: Every day, the first move he made outside his sheets immediately destroyed the only flawless part of his existence.
"Sometimes you think, Hey, maybe there's something else out there. But there really isn't. This is what being alive feels like, you know? The place doesn't matter. You just live."
"I just think it's idiotic that we don't get mail today, simply because Columbus was a bad explorer. You do realize he discovered America by accident, right? He thought the Indians were pygmies."
"Why do we get out of bed?" Mitch wondered. "Is there any feeling better than being in bed? What could possibly feel better than this? What is going to happen in the course of my day that will be an improvement over lying on something very soft, underneath something very warm, wearing only underwear, doing absolutely nothing, all by myself?" Every day, Mitch awoke to this line of reasoning: Every day, the first move he made outside his sheets immediately destroyed the only flawless part of his existence.
"Sometimes you think, Hey, maybe there's something else out there. But there really isn't. This is what being alive feels like, you know? The place doesn't matter. You just live."