In Hoboken

by Christian Bauman

“Bauman writes with precision, in prose that reverberates . . . strong, compelling work.”—Robert Stone As the son of a folk singer whose suicide gained him cult status, Thatcher has a leg up on New York’s music scene. Instead, he decides to keep his parentage secret and take his guitar across the river to seedy Hoboken, New Jersey, to form a band. There, amidst the tenements and dive bars and all-night diners, Thatcher and his friends struggle to make meaningful music in a culture turning away from it. A wicked sense of humor turns out to be key for the motley manager Marsh, the beloved, polio-stricken local rock-and-roll kingpin; lesbian singer/songwriter Lou, to whom Thatcher is deeply attracted; James, guitar virtuoso and daytime World Trade Center employee, not to mention owner of the floor Thatcher is sleeping on; and locals such as Orris, the overweight, half-blind prophet of Hoboken’s west side and patient at the mental clinic where Thatcher is a clerk. As in Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments and Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity ,the music is at the heart of it all. But in In Hoboken the place and the people turn out to be just as inspiring. Christian Bauman ’sacclaimed debut The Ice Beneath You , and his second novel, Voodoo Lounge ,were both based on his experiences as an American soldier in the mid-1990s. He now lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Genres: Fiction

344 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Christian Bauman is the author of a critically acclaimed cycle of novels set in the 1990s (The Ice Beneath You, Voodoo Lounge, and In Hoboken) published between 2002 and 2008. He was a regular contributor to NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered for a few years. Bauman has been interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air, Rachel Maddow and Chuck D on Air America, Vin Scelsa on Idiot’s Delight, and featured in the New York Times and CNN.

Much delayed by a decade-long bout of swirling gypsy mumps, Bauman's fourth novel is slouching toward completion. Maybe this year? Maybe next.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Hoboken by Christian Bauman centers on a returning army vet and folksinger "born fifty years too late."

The novel is a study of a group of diverse friends bound by a shared history and a love of music, and is informed by Bauman's experience as a vet and "itinerant guitar player." (You can hear him sing online, including Waiting for the Fun here.

The novel is set in 1995 in Hoboken, NJ and the city comes alive through the characters and story. I was reminded of Seinfeld or Friends, how the story keeps your interest because you like these characters.

The focus is on Thatcher, army vet and son of a famous mother and secretly the son of a famous folk singer. His old bandmates are forming a new group. They have day jobs so they can live, but music gives them life. Thatcher finds work at a mental health clinic, friending the patient Orris.

Bandmates include Thatcher's old friend James, the older, talented but crippled Marsh. He has a warm relation with the talented female singer Lou.

Even the supporting characters are terrific, such as the landlady Mrs. Quatrone and her memories of Hoboken in the 1970s and 1980s, the decline and resurrection of flowers in the window boxes signifying the economic and social changes.

Bauman has a subtle wit that brought chuckles.

By the time first rounds were drunk and guitars tuned it was 1:30 A.M. They put themselves into a loose circle in the middle of the room, eyeing one another. Thatcher couldn't decide whether it reminded him of Old West gunslingers or lonely hearts at an eighth-grade dance.~ from In Hoboken by Christian Bauman

Crisis moments come to my favorite characters with a death and near death and accident. In the end, Thatcher must face his demons.

Tell me, what part of any of this isn't disturbing?~from In Hoboken by Christian Bauma

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Hoboken is a novel soaked in a love of place. And what's better, at least for any reader born west of the Monongahela River and tired of reading endless love letters to streets and neighborhoods in New York City that we've never heard of, Bauman never takes for granted that we also already know and love his city. Rather, Bauman is the perfectly engaging host, driving us around and pointing out the ballparks, the memorials, the beloved landmarks, before pulling over and dragging us into the diner with the best coffee on the planet. He lets us in on all the local characters, the gossip, and the prejudices. It may be tragic that the end effect is that I don't know if I ever want to set foot in Hoboken. I want to go on believing that everything in the city is just as he's described it. I don't want to run the risk of tracking down that diner, squeezing my way up the counter and then not have anyone bark at me, "We playing games here?"

This third novel feels like Bauman finally hitting his stride.

[Marietje · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book at a raffle at the Nameless Coffee House in Cambridge, MA. That evening we saw and heard three folk musicians who are also authors of books, including Christian Bauman. Bauman plays and talks like he writes fast, full of humor and sensitive to human foibles.

After a stint in the army, twenty four year old guitar player Thatcher returns to Hoboken, NJ to find his niche in the local music community. Despite a colorful circle of caring friends, most of them musicians, he is rudderless, often drunk and prone to contrariness when dealing with authority (his mother and stepfather, his boss).

Bauman successfully crawls into Thatcher's brain, when he tells the story in the language a Hoboken musician would have used when told it to his friends. This technique makes you feel like you are in Hoboken watching the events take place. I have never been in Hoboken, but through this book I have a vivid imagination of what it is like, and how the people interact with each other there.

I highly recommend this book, and also the musician Christian Bauman.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's sad about fiction set in (greater!) NY in the 90's is you know it's just going to get worse. But, if you consider this a parallel universe then you can relax and meet all the interesting folks of Hoboken, NJ. They are all in there except for the group of sixteen year olds from Maplewood who would clearly have attracted the attention of everyone in Maxwell's and seem strangely unremarked upon. ahem.

Only other thing- Since it's a band book, couldn't the musical influences of the protagonist be a little more unusual than Woody Guthrie and Leonard Cohen? Imagine a 90's songwriter obsessed with Ike Turner and Kate Bush, or something. Would that be the Waitresses? They were from Hoboken. Now that would be interesting.

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo-o-o-o-o-oved this book. It helped that I worked in Hoboken for three years, at a bar/venue called Maxwell's which features prominently in this novel.

Also I met the author at a publishing party and he was incredibly gracious and nice. How many authors give the copyeditor a hug?? Not many.

[Cole Conte · Rating 4 out of 5]

It meandered, which I guess is the point

[Jack Silbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's 1995 in Hoboken and guys in their mid-twenties are hanging out, drinking beer, and enjoying music. Wait, is this my memoir? OK, no, it's a work of fiction. This called to mind Tom Perrotta's The Wishbones, which also involved New Jersey, music, and the 90s. Both novels are plain-spoken and aren't trying to achieve Great Things. They're just laying it out there and if you want to enjoy it, go ahead. Kind of like New Jersey itself. (I want to throw Rick Moody's Garden State into this discussion as well but it was so long ago that I read it, that I'm kind of fuzzy on the details.)

This is certainly a realistic portrait of mid-90s Hoboken, with the mix of artists, musicians, Wall Street types, roommates, old Italians, and fringe characters. Some places are real (Maxwell's, Shannon Lounge), others are close facsimiles, and if you were around you can try to guess who was based on who. The author clearly has a deep affection for these characters, even if he can't quite get the reader to feel equally invested.

I think I noticed a couple of anachronisms: A character tosses around "WTF?" which I don't think we were saying back then. And at a key moment, a character expresses interest in watching Carson later that night, though he'd been off the air since 1992.

Not a big deal. This is a pleasant if not earth-shattering read, and will bring back some sweet memories for a certain subset of kindhearted people. Not bad for a summer read.

[Brittany S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely agree that this novel deserves to be in the company of the highly-acclaimed "High Fidelity" I thought there was a great story and the author managed to juggle the stories of the several main characters very well. I did have a few issues, though. There were times were it seemed they wrote the wrong name in--for example, using Mona when they meant Alice. And I would have preferred a little more into Thatcher's and James' lives. For example, with Thatcher being in the army and have an ex-fiancee--it seemed a bit rushed and wasn't brought up a lot after the beginning of the book. How did this affect him mentally? Did it really all come down to his relationship--or lack thereof--with his mother?

Definitely an intriguing read and I felt he did well with a lot of the characters' story lines.

[Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if I should have given this 2 stars, however it was about Hoboken and did have me sad at the end. It is the story about a 20-something year old male that spent the four years after high school in the army. But it is not about that as his growing up in the year he spends in Hoboken. He is trying to start a career as a folk singer in the shadows of a friend becoming famous and his famous mom. He see the start and end of relationships and learns a lot about life and himself. He is defiantly a character I feel some of us can relate to and even though he is fictional I hope he figures it out and makes it big.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific peak into the lives of musicians who dwell just above obscurity in the modern world which has no place for those who don't move a million units in the first week of release. The descriptions of Hoboken music scene are charming and dead-on. The characters are supremely well-drawn. The story's just this side of heartbreaking.

[Tracyj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really think this is more of a 3 and a half stars but rounded up because as Jersey girl I have to admit that the love of the Garden State shines through on this quirky, off-beat novel. Some parts just didn't ring true, but I love a book set in New Jersey and some of the crazy characters you just had to love. Much of this book reads like a set of short stories.

[Jessica]

Started this and wasn't compelled to keep reading, but I am going to finish it when I get around to it. I LOVE that it's set in Hoboken and captures the nuances of the New Jersey city.. I'm tired of everything being set in NYC! There is more to the US that NYC and LA!

[Melville House Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Bauman writes with precision, in prose that reverberates . . . strong, compelling work.” -- Robert Stone

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had its moments, but I mostly just wanted it to end.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow start, but then I am pretty sleepy from a heavy driving vacation.
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It was alright but I expected a different ending as the World Trade Center was mentioned quite a bit.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Attempt #2, and I just don't stay into it past page 50. Sorry.