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kl_lovesbooks 's review for:
The Spectacular Now
by Tim Tharp
"Life is a big, screwed-up joke with its ups and downs. The best way to deal with it is to live in the now, pursue all the pleasure and deal with none of the grief."
That's the message I get from Sutter Keely, protagonist of The Spectacular Now. He takes a purely hedonistic, somewhat philosophical world view throughout the book. Tharp gives Sutton a clear, blunt, narrative voice but when it comes to character development, Sutter stays the same person from point A to point B, even with inserting numerous potential turning points for him.
Sutter defines himself as "God's own drunk". And drinking does seem to be his life's philosophy; he barely gets through any encounter in the book without a flask or 7UP/whiskey in hand. He doesn't confront his own problems, despite supposedly 'helping' new love Aimee come out of her shell. He's ultimately a likeable character, but as I read on, he became like a guest who has overstayed his welcome.
As for the plot, where did it go? The plot could easily just have been a set of serial anecdotes. There are too many loose ends, no closure. You're left with too many questions, and no answers--and not in a good way. Maybe that's how Tharp intended for it to go, a story that pantomimes real life for pleasure-seekers. Real life doesn't have closure; sometimes we end up shelving our problems in the back of our drunk brains as life goes on.
I guess that's ultimately the true message of the novel, hopeless as it is. Sutton had a drinking problem, family issues, a skewed view of life, but in the end, he brushes everything aside and lives in the "Spectacular Now".
Conclusions? Well-written, funny, but half-hearted in terms of plot and character development. Instead of a real story, we get a portrait of a hedonistic, broken yet charismatic boy who approaches life with a swagger in his step, a joke in his eyes, and a flask in his hand.
That's the message I get from Sutter Keely, protagonist of The Spectacular Now. He takes a purely hedonistic, somewhat philosophical world view throughout the book. Tharp gives Sutton a clear, blunt, narrative voice but when it comes to character development, Sutter stays the same person from point A to point B, even with inserting numerous potential turning points for him.
Sutter defines himself as "God's own drunk". And drinking does seem to be his life's philosophy; he barely gets through any encounter in the book without a flask or 7UP/whiskey in hand. He doesn't confront his own problems, despite supposedly 'helping' new love Aimee come out of her shell. He's ultimately a likeable character, but as I read on, he became like a guest who has overstayed his welcome.
As for the plot, where did it go? The plot could easily just have been a set of serial anecdotes. There are too many loose ends, no closure. You're left with too many questions, and no answers--and not in a good way. Maybe that's how Tharp intended for it to go, a story that pantomimes real life for pleasure-seekers. Real life doesn't have closure; sometimes we end up shelving our problems in the back of our drunk brains as life goes on.
I guess that's ultimately the true message of the novel, hopeless as it is. Sutton had a drinking problem, family issues, a skewed view of life, but in the end, he brushes everything aside and lives in the "Spectacular Now".
Conclusions? Well-written, funny, but half-hearted in terms of plot and character development. Instead of a real story, we get a portrait of a hedonistic, broken yet charismatic boy who approaches life with a swagger in his step, a joke in his eyes, and a flask in his hand.