Downtown Owl: A Novel Audiobook

" I couldn't decide whether I should give it 3 or 4 stars... The entire time I was reading it, I wavered between liking it quite a bit and not being completely sure that things were going to end satisfactorily in the pages that remained. By satisfactorily, I don't necessarily mean happily-ever-after, just appropriate for the story. I am still thinking about the characters, which to me often means a good book. Mitch was well done, but I think there was a lot lacking in Julia's perspective. There were some really disturbing aspects to each character that could have been developed more, but the 3+ person perspective gave a decent idea of what it might be like to live in a town like Owl. "

" I gave this 3 stars because I literally laughed out loud at least 10 times while reading this book... in a good way. Some of the scenarios are downright bizarre and amazingly funny. I would only recommend it to people who are looking for a laugh.. to try and dig any deeper with the themes here would be a total waste of time and soon you'd forget the comedy. "

" If you like reading Chuck Klosterman, don't read any interviews with the man. He is an ass and will turn you off to him as a writer. With that disclaimer out of the way, Chuck's first foray into fiction is a fairly slight book with some nice small town ambiance and the usual Klosterman pop culture rants. This review should really be a 2 1/2 because of the ending. Downtown Owl is a book with no story to speak of, it's much more of a slice of life, but in the final 20 or so pages Chuck throws down a literal Dues Ex Machina. Dues Ex Machina is only used when the writer has painted their plot into a corner and even then it's poor writing. To introduce this machinery of the gods to a story with no plot is senseless, meaningless and undermines all the understated observation that the book hinged on for the 200 pages prior. Go ahead and read it, but once you get to the part in which "Everything went white and we all fell down," close the book. "

" There were a lot of great lines in this book. I found it both entertaining and easy to read. After finishing it, I found a lot of the character motivations to have played out well. It catalyzed nicely at the end. Not bad for a first novel. "

" When I tried to read Sex, Drugs, and Coco-Puffs I didn't make it through 10 pages before I decided I hated the book. So when my book club chose Downtown Owl I was nervous. It turned out that I had nothing to worry about because Downtown Owl is the most fun book that I've read in a while. Quirky and fast but somehow still deep. I loved the way Klosterman had the omnipotent narrator but jumped around to different characters. I'm going to have to give Coco Puffs another try. "

" Chuck Klosterman's background as a writer of non-fiction shorts shows in this novel. As you would expect from Klosterman, each chapter is entertaining in and of itself, but as a whole it is less than the sum of its parts. The novel takes place over the course of approximately six months in Owl, North Dakota. It tracks the lives of 4 protagonists. The structure of the book is such that each chapter is written from perspective of a single protagonist relating a few hours of a particular day. As such, Downtown Owl jumps around a great deal. There is minimal interaction between the primary characters and the book lacks a certain cohesion. "

" Chuck Klosterman should not write fiction. The lead up was great, the characterization was great, but the ending was a complete and utter cop-out. Love his other stuff though. Chuck, go back to what you do best and write some kick-ass essays, alright? "

" I wanted to live in Owl, a town where boys play football with their sisters and drinking is a legitimate pastime, after reading this book. "

" Hopefully this is the first of many more Klosterman novels. "

" Got this as a gift. I prefer Klosterman as a journalist but his fiction attempt isn't horrible. "

" Popcorn but a burnt caramel and sea salt organic popcorn. "

" Actually makes life in Owl, North Dakota, population 800, in the 1980s fascinating. Narrative shifts among three characters--high school jock, young schoolteacher, and retired/widowed farmer--and they are all handled very well. The ending comes as quite a shock but I enjoyed the entire book. "

" Dark, very funny and lots of strong opinions, I absolutely love it. This is the first book I've read by him , don t want to jinx it but he may be my new squeeze , until T.C Boyle puts out a new novel of course ... "

" I LOVE HIM. love him. "

" I thought this was a solid read. If you like Klosterman, this if your kind of novel. "

" I enjoyed this a lot more than I've enjoyed Klosterman's nonfiction essays. It was very obvious and pretentious and a little too precious at times, but over all it was fun and quirky in a good way. "

" It was pretty good. Not a serious page turner, but at the same time it was enjoyable and there wasnt much wrong with it. My main gripe is that Chuck didnt write characters that discussed music more in this book. The conversation about the Rolling Stones vs everyone else ever, was pretty hilarious. "

" I am a huge fan of Chuck Klosterman's non fiction. I am happy to now be a huge fan of his fiction as well. "

" I just loved this book! The characters and setting were phenomenal! This book kept me laughing and is easy to love. I mean I was cracking up laughing out loud laughing which is not typical for me. It is kind of brilliant and funny at the same time. "

" This is one of those slice-of-life books where nothing really happens, but you somehow vaguely miss the characters once you're done with them. "

" pure crap. klosterman should stick to pop culture essays. "

" An impressive debut novel. Quirky and funny. "

" I enjoyed it all the way until the end, which was really reprehensible. I can only recommend it with reservations, but I'm still in line to read Klosterman's next novel. "

" OH DEARY ME WAS THAT REALLY THE END I CANNOT. :( "

" Klosterman knows his small-town midwest. "

" I thought this was a solid read. If you like Klosterman, this if your kind of novel. "

" He was on the 2009 UND Writer's Conference panel. Because he was born in ND I wanted to read this book. "

" I think I prefer the non-fiction. "

" Very good book. Kept my interest to the end, but there was sadness. I enjoy the Klosterman shorts that make milk come out of my nose. "

" An inside view of small-town life. Wellwritten. "

" It's the story of life in a small North Dakota town through the eyes of a first-year teacher, a high-school quarterback and an aging widower. This is the first of Klosterman's books that I've read and I really enjoyed it. I just hate there was no Candy-vs.-Grendel free-for-all! :) "

" It didn't really seem like Klosterman had much to say here, and he accomplished that task impeccably. "

" I felt betrayed by this book, but really liked it anyway. I can't recommend it, but I did make at least one person read it so I could talk about it. "

" Awesome and amazing!I really enjoyed this read and will be getting more of Chuck's books. I'm a fan. "

" Fun, easy read. Slightly depressing. Interesting character development. "