Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Enjoyed reading this book from beginning to end. I wanted the characters to become my friends and see and adventure into their town, Little Wing.
Perhaps, as a small town Wisconsin resident my views are a bit biased, but I loved this book. Yes, the characters are well written and meaningful, the story is meandering and beautiful, but mostly it's the love with which it's written. You can tell in the delicate sentences and paragraphs describing the landscape: this book is a love letter to small town America, and damned if it didn't bring a tear to my eye and a newfound appreciation of my home to my heart.
Recently, a friend pointed out on Twitter that a book he was reading would drive me bonkers because it touched upon very many of my literary pet peeves.
“Dick Lit to the extreme. Selfish, sad-sack, ‘anti-hero’ middle-aged white male antagonist. Female characters as props.”
I chuckled because he was right, I do loathe that crap in books, and yet at the same time I was reading Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, which could also be described by that tweet. read more.
“Dick Lit to the extreme. Selfish, sad-sack, ‘anti-hero’ middle-aged white male antagonist. Female characters as props.”
I chuckled because he was right, I do loathe that crap in books, and yet at the same time I was reading Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, which could also be described by that tweet. read more.
Eh...like the 2 stars I gave it says..."it was ok". Nothing great, nothing too deep. Just ok.
Loved it. Fell in love with every character and didn't want it to end.
Where are the mosquitoes? Where is the humidity?
Having lived in Wisconsin my whole life, I really hoped to love this book, but no such luck. Not only is the plot almost non-existent, what there is of it is weighed down by sentimentality, over-writing, and cliches (if we're in a bar, the Packers are on (unless someone is watching Jeopardy, in which case the topic is the Packers); cheese curds appear with regularity; that last beer in the fridge: a Leinenkugels, and so on). In addition, all of the characters sound alike, except for the rodeo guy and his stripper girlfriend, who double and triple their negatives while everyone else is in love with poetic metaphors and rhapsodic praise of the land. In the romanticizing of rural Wisconsin life (farmers don't seem to do much except tinker with their engines and ride around on their tractors), Butler ignores most of the challenges, except for references to financial difficulties of the small farmer.
Having lived in Wisconsin my whole life, I really hoped to love this book, but no such luck. Not only is the plot almost non-existent, what there is of it is weighed down by sentimentality, over-writing, and cliches (if we're in a bar, the Packers are on (unless someone is watching Jeopardy, in which case the topic is the Packers); cheese curds appear with regularity; that last beer in the fridge: a Leinenkugels, and so on). In addition, all of the characters sound alike, except for the rodeo guy and his stripper girlfriend, who double and triple their negatives while everyone else is in love with poetic metaphors and rhapsodic praise of the land. In the romanticizing of rural Wisconsin life (farmers don't seem to do much except tinker with their engines and ride around on their tractors), Butler ignores most of the challenges, except for references to financial difficulties of the small farmer.
"When he talked politics, it was with me, or my sister, pointing a steady and patient finger at us, saying, 'I don’t care about left or right. It’s all nonsense. All I ask of you is this: Be kind. Be decent. And don’t be greedy.'" If only….
My first Nickolas Butler…definitely not my last!
My first Nickolas Butler…definitely not my last!
I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long, long time. Maybe it's because I've lived in the Midwest my whole life. I relate to Midwest values, hard working, honest people who say what they mean - people who know what it's like to wait for that small paycheck, to wait for that crop to come in. Friends are friends for life. They grew up together and always are in one another's lives.
This book is marvelous.
This book is marvelous.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
3.5 stars. There is a lot to love in Shotgun Lovesongs. Nickolas Butler has created some interesting and mostly likable characters. I truly loved some of his poetic descriptions of the Wisconsin landscape. I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Butler speak at an event, and I found him to be a really fun, down-to-earth guy. He addressed the "rumor" that this story is that of Bon Iver and insists that while the book is loosely inspired by Justin Vernon's story, it is not the basis for the book. I grew up in a small town in Northern Wisconsin less than an hour from where the fictional "Little Wing" was located. The characters in the story are relatively the same age as I am, and because of this I was hypercritical of this book. I think had I grown up someplace else, I would have mostly loved this book. While I enjoyed reading it, there were just constantly little things that would happen, where I would want to yell, "THAT WOULD NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPEN!!!" ;)
A few spoilers below...
First of all - let me tell you, Henry, Ronnie, Kip, and Leland? Nobody in Northern WI born in the early 80's was named that. Everybody was Joe or Mike or Dan or Nick. We had a "Tucker" in my class and that's about as exotic as it gets. Also, while this idea that the entire small town is just all friends with each other seems pretty far fetched. Like, honestly, it's really nice to think that Felicia would be friends with Lucy, the stripper...but I can pretty much promise that wouldn't be the case. Also, I felt like sometimes Butler's dialogue really gave into the Wisconsin stereotypes that we're all simple people and kind people. I suppose Kip's existence is supposed to show some diversity, but in the story he's apparently only smart and "cosmopolitan" because he moved away to Chicago. And the part about Ronnie getting drunk and wandering out completely unnoticed- it just bugged me. Everyone knew he was a recovering alcoholic. They would never have had his bachelor party in a bar and people would have been watching him and helping him. On one had, you're telling me that everyone is WI is simple and kind, but they leave their drunk friend to fend for himself in the snow? Unlikely.
There were also just really silly inaccurate things - as I mentioned in a status update...NOBODY would ever drive down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago to get from NY to Northern WI. Nobody! That would add a good three hours on to your trip! ;) And finally, the end was just a little to drawn out and dramatic for me. The whole egg story left me feeling kind of annoyed at the story as a whole, whereas most of the book was enjoyable. I think Nickolas Butler is a good author with a great voice. In this case, the story just hit home a little too much to me and made shake my head more often than I would have liked.
A few spoilers below...
First of all - let me tell you, Henry, Ronnie, Kip, and Leland? Nobody in Northern WI born in the early 80's was named that. Everybody was Joe or Mike or Dan or Nick. We had a "Tucker" in my class and that's about as exotic as it gets. Also, while this idea that the entire small town is just all friends with each other seems pretty far fetched. Like, honestly, it's really nice to think that Felicia would be friends with Lucy, the stripper...but I can pretty much promise that wouldn't be the case. Also, I felt like sometimes Butler's dialogue really gave into the Wisconsin stereotypes that we're all simple people and kind people. I suppose Kip's existence is supposed to show some diversity, but in the story he's apparently only smart and "cosmopolitan" because he moved away to Chicago. And the part about Ronnie getting drunk and wandering out completely unnoticed- it just bugged me. Everyone knew he was a recovering alcoholic. They would never have had his bachelor party in a bar and people would have been watching him and helping him. On one had, you're telling me that everyone is WI is simple and kind, but they leave their drunk friend to fend for himself in the snow? Unlikely.
There were also just really silly inaccurate things - as I mentioned in a status update...NOBODY would ever drive down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago to get from NY to Northern WI. Nobody! That would add a good three hours on to your trip! ;) And finally, the end was just a little to drawn out and dramatic for me. The whole egg story left me feeling kind of annoyed at the story as a whole, whereas most of the book was enjoyable. I think Nickolas Butler is a good author with a great voice. In this case, the story just hit home a little too much to me and made shake my head more often than I would have liked.