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Eureka: A Novel by Jim Lehrer
This edition contains an excerpt from Jim Lehrer's Tension City .Ever reliable and responsible, Otis Halstead is a father, a husband (one half of a “well-dressed couple of substance”), and the CEO of Kansas Central Fire and Casualty. He has never done anything out of the ordinary. Until now.The change in Otis starts with an antique toy fire truck, the exact model he had pined for at age ten but never received. Though it is now a collectible costing $12,350, he will buy it–because he can. Next comes a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun, ordered from the Nostalgia Today catalog. A Kansas City Chiefs regulation NFL helmet follows. But Otis’s real coup is the purchase of his one true childhood a red 1952 Cushman Pacemaker motor scooter. For his baffled wife, Sally, this is the final straw. She insists that he see a shrink– a sloppy man with flowing hair who uses terms like “mature men in crisis” and “second childhood syndrome.” Otis is unimpressed–and extremely insulted–by the doctor’s insinuation that his baldness is to blame for his sudden interest in toys.But it’s not until tragedy strikes uncomfortably close to home that Otis decides he wants out of his sensible, safe life in Eureka, Kansas. And so, a few weeks before his sixtieth birthday, Otis leaves town, heading west on old U.S. 56, a corporate CEO wearing a football helmet, riding a forty-year-old motor scooter, and with a BB gun strapped to the side. One might say he was in for an adventure. Otis would say he was finally about to experience life.Jim Lehrer has created an acute, laugh-out-loud, and endearing portrait of American middle age. With abundant wit and a sharp sense of the lives most of us lead, Eureka takes us on a journey through the unfulfilled dreams of childhood. In Otis Halstead, Lehrer has created his most brilliant and winning character to date.
- GenresFiction
Paperback
First published October 2, 2007
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About the author
Jim Lehrer
44 books39 followersJames Charles Lehrer was an American journalist and the news anchor for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, known for his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections. Lehrer was an author of non-fiction and fiction, drawing from his experiences and interests in history and politics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 10, 2021
This book was so unexpectedly fun.
Otis, a 59-year-old man grows dissatisfied with his job in insurance. He finds joy in antiques that he buys ( a sports helmet, a BB gun, a motor scooter), things that were restricted in his youth. His wife finds this behavior to be out of character and insists that he sees a therapist at a locally renowned mental health clinic in Eureka Kansas, where his therapist with flowing brown hair and an obsession with Jeeps tells him he is going through a "second childhood". The story catalyzes when a colleague at the insurance firm kills himself because of monotony and lack of purpose. Otis is blamed for this man's suicide. In the hopes of not falling down the same hole, Otis runs away on his motor scooter- which dies quickly in the rain and is forced to pull over. He meets a failed football player turned fudge conoseiur who steels 4 thou from Otis. He leaves, whitnesses a family fight at the diner, and gets into an almost car crash. He is rescued by a young man who invites him over to have coffee and to meet his dying mother- whom he takes on a ride on his scooter. With state jingles stuck in his head, he accidentily falls off of a bridge and is knocked unconcious in the water. Brought back in the hospital, he decides to fake his ailments to mess with the doctors- insisting that the only was he can communicate it through Jonny Mercer songs. He escapes from the hospital and finds his therapist and steels his Jeep.
A reflection on aging, job fulfilment, mental health, posessions and freedom.
Otis, a 59-year-old man grows dissatisfied with his job in insurance. He finds joy in antiques that he buys ( a sports helmet, a BB gun, a motor scooter), things that were restricted in his youth. His wife finds this behavior to be out of character and insists that he sees a therapist at a locally renowned mental health clinic in Eureka Kansas, where his therapist with flowing brown hair and an obsession with Jeeps tells him he is going through a "second childhood". The story catalyzes when a colleague at the insurance firm kills himself because of monotony and lack of purpose. Otis is blamed for this man's suicide. In the hopes of not falling down the same hole, Otis runs away on his motor scooter- which dies quickly in the rain and is forced to pull over. He meets a failed football player turned fudge conoseiur who steels 4 thou from Otis. He leaves, whitnesses a family fight at the diner, and gets into an almost car crash. He is rescued by a young man who invites him over to have coffee and to meet his dying mother- whom he takes on a ride on his scooter. With state jingles stuck in his head, he accidentily falls off of a bridge and is knocked unconcious in the water. Brought back in the hospital, he decides to fake his ailments to mess with the doctors- insisting that the only was he can communicate it through Jonny Mercer songs. He escapes from the hospital and finds his therapist and steels his Jeep.
A reflection on aging, job fulfilment, mental health, posessions and freedom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2018
Approaching 60, filled with nostalgia and a mid life crisis, Otis decides to run away from responsibility and his old life. Toy cars, B.B. guns and scooters engage the reader with their own nostalgia and memories. Charming and reflective.
February 6, 2026
Just as I have little patience for the existential angst of young women in fiction these days, I guess I have little patience for men in mid-life ( or later life) crises. It was just okay for me. Others might enjoy it more.
October 23, 2017
Novel by noted newscaster about CEO of Kansas insurance company who "runs away," first on a motor scooter, finally driving a Jeep.
January 18, 2026
Cute book. Middle-aged guy runs away. I was left wanting more though.
December 30, 2020
A quirky and entertaining novel about a man going through a mid-life crisis at age 59, almost 60. Enjoyable, funny, touching. Jim Lehrer has written another little gem.
December 30, 2016
A nostalgic adventure down memory lane - laugh out loud humor mixed with an old time sadness. I think you have to be of a certain age to enjoy these books and I am definitely of that generation!! I've "run away" so many times in my life I could really relate! To paraphrase "if it's broke - fix it"!!
June 2, 2016
I wasn't sure who Jim Lehrer was until I did a google, and then I recognized his face to his name. I had no idea he wrote books in his spare time.
I then had to google Johnny Mercer, because it was an important part in the story as the main character, Otis Halstead sings exactly like him. I don't recall hearing Johnny Mercer's name before, and yet we all know many of his famous songs like "Jeepers, Creepers" and "Moon River" sung by other artists. He was a lyricist, songwriter and singer to over 1,500 songs from the 1930's to mid 1950's, well before I was even born. I pulled up an youtube video of Johnny Mercer and watched/listened to "Johnny Mercer sings a medley of his hits", and yeah, I'm now a big fan! I love this type of music!
On that note, I have to say I love Johnny Mercer's songs a whole lot better than the book, Eureka, without the exclamation point. I was never convinced that Otis Halstead was a CEO of a big insurance company. Yeah, I get it, he was being carefree and reckless, but he just didn't seem to fit the stereotype of a CEO. I felt sad for his wife and their daughter, because he was such a jerk to them, and yet somehow his wife loved him.
So even though I didn't think too much of Otis (I still thought he was an ultra boring person, even in how he ran away), I have to admit I was cheering him on when he "got back" at Charlie Blue. And I definitely feel how the book ended was exactly how it should had ended, because it would had been all wrong if was any other way.
I then had to google Johnny Mercer, because it was an important part in the story as the main character, Otis Halstead sings exactly like him. I don't recall hearing Johnny Mercer's name before, and yet we all know many of his famous songs like "Jeepers, Creepers" and "Moon River" sung by other artists. He was a lyricist, songwriter and singer to over 1,500 songs from the 1930's to mid 1950's, well before I was even born. I pulled up an youtube video of Johnny Mercer and watched/listened to "Johnny Mercer sings a medley of his hits", and yeah, I'm now a big fan! I love this type of music!
On that note, I have to say I love Johnny Mercer's songs a whole lot better than the book, Eureka, without the exclamation point. I was never convinced that Otis Halstead was a CEO of a big insurance company. Yeah, I get it, he was being carefree and reckless, but he just didn't seem to fit the stereotype of a CEO. I felt sad for his wife and their daughter, because he was such a jerk to them, and yet somehow his wife loved him.
So even though I didn't think too much of Otis (I still thought he was an ultra boring person, even in how he ran away), I have to admit I was cheering him on when he "got back" at Charlie Blue. And I definitely feel how the book ended was exactly how it should had ended, because it would had been all wrong if was any other way.
January 15, 2008
Dude, I think I'm too young for Jim Lehrer's books, or at least this one and the one I read earlier this month, "The Phony Marine." On the surface, this novella is very similar to The Phony Marine - a successful but unfulfilled 60-ish white guy purchases a talisman that leads to positive self-awakening and change. I'm not 60 or white or questioning the direction my life is taking or the decisions I've made to get there. Or at least I'm young enough that I feel like there's still time to do something about it if I were! Doubting my direction, not the being under 60 and not white part.
So it was hard for me to identify with the protagonist in the book and get caught up in his world. As a consequence, he seemed selfish, childish, and neither plausible nor human. Supporting characters were ultra two-dimensional archetypes who served as foils for the main character.
But I'm aware that the value and meaning of books are as much about who and where the writer and reader are as the story and its telling, so perhaps in another 30 years these books might be more meaningful to me. And FWIW, these books Jim's written seem to be about something...some internal transformation? transmogrification? awakening? that I think I might be too young, or of too different of a generation to 'get.'
So it was hard for me to identify with the protagonist in the book and get caught up in his world. As a consequence, he seemed selfish, childish, and neither plausible nor human. Supporting characters were ultra two-dimensional archetypes who served as foils for the main character.
But I'm aware that the value and meaning of books are as much about who and where the writer and reader are as the story and its telling, so perhaps in another 30 years these books might be more meaningful to me. And FWIW, these books Jim's written seem to be about something...some internal transformation? transmogrification? awakening? that I think I might be too young, or of too different of a generation to 'get.'
October 6, 2008
I read this for a book club. Jim Lehrer has written many books, but this is the first one I have read. I've watched him on TV and like his style. After reading this book, I will read more of his. This is a silly, sad, sweet story of one man's crisis (can't say mid life because he is only weeks away from his 60th birthday). He has it all, but it's not enough. It's a typical story of a man waking up to discover that he missed out on having fun because he was so responsible and career driven. What makes the book untypical are the cast of characters that he meets along his journey. And, after visiting the mid West, I think Lehrer got the tenor of that part of the country right. I think Lehrer made a good decision to set the book in 1997 because the mid West was still innocent in some ways so the plot works. If the setting were today, I'm not so sure I'd enjoy the book as much because I'd find it too unrealistic.
December 15, 2020
I just didn't register that the author of this book, Jim Lehrer, is THE Jim Lehrer from the PBS show. Once I read his bio and saw his picture on the inside of the rear book jacket I realized who he is.
That said, I thought this was a wonderful novel about mid-life crises. After the last two books I read about maturity, and the number of people shirking societies' definition of maturity, this book served as a brilliant segue for what life can be like for the Baby Boom generation nearing the end of their careers.
I especially liked the chapters when the protagonist went on his brief, but insightful, road trip.
That said, I thought this was a wonderful novel about mid-life crises. After the last two books I read about maturity, and the number of people shirking societies' definition of maturity, this book served as a brilliant segue for what life can be like for the Baby Boom generation nearing the end of their careers.
I especially liked the chapters when the protagonist went on his brief, but insightful, road trip.
October 17, 2007
i don't know why the heck i read this book. okay, no wait, i do...it is set in Kansas and I love Kansas. It's about this middle age guy going through a mid-life crisis.
it was funny at some parts and i guess i enjoyed it for getting a peek inside what it might be like to be a middle-aged guy having a mid-life crisis--but then i am not too sure about that because it was pretty far-fetched.
some parts were funny, though. but do i really want to read about a 59 yr old man having a wet dream?
BARF-O, NO!
it was funny at some parts and i guess i enjoyed it for getting a peek inside what it might be like to be a middle-aged guy having a mid-life crisis--but then i am not too sure about that because it was pretty far-fetched.
some parts were funny, though. but do i really want to read about a 59 yr old man having a wet dream?
BARF-O, NO!
April 28, 2010
Not my cup of tea. Some books are categorized as 'chick lit.' Well, this one falls under the category of 'boy book.' Nearing 60, Otis Halstead starts acquiring toys of his youth -- including a Cushman scooter -- and then decides to run away from home. The Washington Post said it was a "nutty, likable romp" but I did not find it fun at all. I though the characters were odd and Otis' travels served no purpose. I'm disappointed, because I was hoping to like a book written by The News Hour's Jim Lehrer.
February 12, 2008
I have loved the other Jim Lehrer books I have read, but this one just didn't do it for me. It was funny in parts, but I think you have to be a middle aged male to really appreciate it. Plus, what was with all the cussing in this one? I just told a friend that I love Jim Lehrer's books and that I felt I could recommend them because they are basically clean other than a light sprinkling of swears. This one had a TON of swearing and some other images I just didn't WANT to even KNow About.
November 11, 2010
This thin, simply written novel is somehow very humorous and very sad at the same time. It manages somehow to be a farce and yet somehow a fairly serious treatment of the search for meaning in life and, more specifically, mid-life crises. It doesn't set out to accomplish or explain much, but it does deliver some sliver of insight and inspire some introspection while feeling all along like a trifle. Personally, I didn't love it enough to seek out more of Lehrer's books.
August 9, 2009
Engaging read. I feel like this would be an appropriate book to share with middle-aged male friends. (deals with a mid-life crisis of sorts) Great to see the good work of Jim Lehrer extends beyong the News Hour.
January 28, 2011
This was a cute story about a man hitting mid-life and realizing that although he had won much that the world considers of success, it had cost him. Now at 59, he was going to have what he had really wanted in life.
January 5, 2015
Odd little book. The author does show his age, as the protagonist is a man near retirement age reliving a second childhood... that surprisingly does invovle fast cars, loose women and excessive alcohol.
April 4, 2016
Eureka ( no exclamation point, please) is a cleverly written cross between a farce and a serious work on mid-life crises.
And who doesn't love a book about a 59 year old squat, boring bald guy who desperately wants to run away....... learns to cuss mildly, the little shit!
And who doesn't love a book about a 59 year old squat, boring bald guy who desperately wants to run away....... learns to cuss mildly, the little shit!
January 9, 2008
funny funny funny. Okay, Jim Lehrer doesn't exactly ooze funniness on TV, but this book is totally amusing.
March 31, 2008
Cute, folksy, insubstantial story of a midlife crisis. It is deeply disconcerting to read Jim Lehrer (yes, that one) describing a wet dream.
May 19, 2008
Jim Lehrer tells one hell of a good story.
December 17, 2008
a sweet story, but pretty lightweight
April 17, 2009
This is an okay book about a man who wants to live his dream and runs away from his old life. It's a good quick read for fiction.
Read
March 11, 2009I cannot recall this book!
June 10, 2009
who knew that jim lehrer wrote novels??! a funny, clever, song filled story of a man during his mid life crisis.
June 21, 2009
Great, fun read.
September 20, 2009
otis halsted is approaching 60 and decides perhaps he has missed something. it starts by purchasing a childs antique fire engine and escalates to a scooter. funny and soo true!!
February 17, 2011
Loved it! Loved the Kansas names for the characters
July 13, 2012
Cute story about a mid-life crisis man.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews