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War Memorials
From War Memorials by Clint McCown : At first the lizard was just one more source of tension between us. Laney bought it secondhand from some woman down in Huntsville who said it kept her cockroach problem under control. She told Laney it was a fine lizard, whatever that means, and she flat hated to sell it but she was just about to get married and didn't think she's need a lizard anymore. I guess we all start out with high expectations. Jimmy Vann was twice reported dead in World War II, and only after reading his own glowing obituary did he find his true selling life insurance. Jimmy's son, Nolan, falls far short of his father's expectations. With no war of his own to reckon with, Nolan lives a life without gravity in the small Southern town in which he grew up. During the span of a two-week carnival and in the midst of a failing marriage, Nolan finds work as a repo man and inadvertently begins a journey of self-discovery. On the fringes of town, where repo work is plentiful, he encounters an inspired cast of characters including a zookeeper who specializes in dangerous animals, an inconvenient corpse, and a family of snake handlers. Despite a seemingly endless series of mishaps, Nolan persists in his efforts to convince the reader-- and himself-- that his life means something .
- GenresFiction
240 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 19, 2010
War Memorials is about Nolan Vann, the son of a WWII veteran who was inaccurately reported dead twice during the war, returning home to a successful career as a life insurance salesman. Nolan isn't quite the local hero his father is. After his father fires him from the insurance company, he picks up work with a cousin as a repo man; he has no real ambition; and his marriage isn't exactly one of great success. All in all, he's just kinda going through the motions, while trying to have some big revelation and figure out what his life and what it all means.
Small towns intrigue me because of this: I grew up in a big city but one that is close enough to many small towns that the small-town way of life was still familiar. Fifteen minutes on the interstate in one direction leads me to the symphony hall, while fifteen minutes the other way leads to farmland where the pick-up truck is the most populous vehicle and rebel flags line tents selling fireworks (true story: just saw it while at home). It was a life I could not (and still cannot, really) picture living. I always drive through these areas and wonder how these people live. What do they do day to day? Where do they work? Where do they go to eat? What do they do for fun? And one great observation that McCown uses as a foundation for his whole story: why do small towns always seem to hang on so dearly to the past? Committees preserving an old theater or historic house, or fundraising to build a memorial. Always a war memorial. Reminding future generations that someone who frequented that very same drugstore on the corner where you fill your prescriptions played some part in an American war, allowing the historical record to imply that their livelihood, their memory is much more important than yours.
McCown's writing is engrossing, because he says so much in simple ways. He has a great way of blending humor with the serious to create a story that isn't too dark, but isn't too comic either. He describes the unpredictability of any given day without ever exaggerating the action of it. He can take momentous events, like a snake bite or the accidental shooting (by arrow) of a local resturant owner (yes, so random and so amazingly creative), and humanize them, so we remember that real people are living through these things, reacting to them, dealing with them, and the drama of the event doesn't take over.
I really enjoyed War Memorials. Nolan is a likable character because you just have to sympathize with a guy who feels stuck. It's like he's unhappy with the life he has, but he doesn't know any other way; what do you do then? The answer I took away from the story is this—life has its imbalances but the uncertainty and the guesswork keep us going. So just go with it and try not to take it too seriously.
Small towns intrigue me because of this: I grew up in a big city but one that is close enough to many small towns that the small-town way of life was still familiar. Fifteen minutes on the interstate in one direction leads me to the symphony hall, while fifteen minutes the other way leads to farmland where the pick-up truck is the most populous vehicle and rebel flags line tents selling fireworks (true story: just saw it while at home). It was a life I could not (and still cannot, really) picture living. I always drive through these areas and wonder how these people live. What do they do day to day? Where do they work? Where do they go to eat? What do they do for fun? And one great observation that McCown uses as a foundation for his whole story: why do small towns always seem to hang on so dearly to the past? Committees preserving an old theater or historic house, or fundraising to build a memorial. Always a war memorial. Reminding future generations that someone who frequented that very same drugstore on the corner where you fill your prescriptions played some part in an American war, allowing the historical record to imply that their livelihood, their memory is much more important than yours.
McCown's writing is engrossing, because he says so much in simple ways. He has a great way of blending humor with the serious to create a story that isn't too dark, but isn't too comic either. He describes the unpredictability of any given day without ever exaggerating the action of it. He can take momentous events, like a snake bite or the accidental shooting (by arrow) of a local resturant owner (yes, so random and so amazingly creative), and humanize them, so we remember that real people are living through these things, reacting to them, dealing with them, and the drama of the event doesn't take over.
I really enjoyed War Memorials. Nolan is a likable character because you just have to sympathize with a guy who feels stuck. It's like he's unhappy with the life he has, but he doesn't know any other way; what do you do then? The answer I took away from the story is this—life has its imbalances but the uncertainty and the guesswork keep us going. So just go with it and try not to take it too seriously.
July 12, 2011
Eh. I definitely see that there are positives about this book. There are some really stunning lines and passages. As a whole, though, I just feel sort of ambivilent. This narrator felt like a less vulgar, less drugged up version of Denis Johnson's Jesus Son (which is a book I really don't care for). This felt more like a collection of stories guys would tell when they get drunk (remember that time when Steve Pitts ran his backhoe over to the hospital?) than a novel. Of course, in that way, they sort of seem like war stories, which really is fitting with the theme of the book, so...McCown is clever. There's no doubt about that.
January 3, 2022
Excellent
July 20, 2011
Title: War Memorials
Author: Clint McCown
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Rating: 4 Shots of Espresso (The Red Eye)
I would first like to thank Graywolf Press for allowing me the opportunity to read Clint McCown's novel War Memorials. Graywolf Press graciously sent me McCown's novel to read and review.
I thought reading Clint McCown’s War Memorials for Memorial weekend was only fitting. What better way than read about the lives of veterans during the weekend most of us “remember” while vacay-ing. But even more fitting than the not-so-coincidence weekend connection was enjoying all of the novel’s carnival scenes—4H animals, Ferris wheels, fried food and the demolition derby. I decided to take a reading break by going to Chico’s very own Silver Dollar Fair where I watched the Sprint cars, ate a soft pretzel with amazing nacho cheese and saw my favorite little furry friends—sheep and baby goats. Though I didn’t go to the demolition derby, I am now well versed that McCown’s figure eight track was much more exciting than Chico’s version where they line up. But you didn’t come to read about my fair adventure…
…back to McCown’s story, which is of a man on the way to an unsuccessful and pitiful life. The main character, Nolan Vann, has lost his job, his cockroach eating lizard and possibly his pregnant wife, Laney. So why read? That’s what I thought about twenty pages in, but the novel is MUCH MORE than a pathetic man “finding” himself. McCown’s War Memorials examines how a man who seems to have nothing has a lot—he has relationships with everyone in his community. Nolan isn’t trying to form his identity; Nolan is developing his relationship to his family and his community. He meets snake worshipers, veterans of all the wars Nolan never fought, and people who Nolan repossess their cars. Nolan is a man who finds a place for himself in a community he doesn’t belong once other community outcasts reach out to him.
I recommend Clint McCown’s War Memorials to anyone who wants to remind himself or herself that individuality is a good thing. McCown reminds his readers to acknowledge the past but, also, create your future; be yourself. I give War Memorials four shots of espresso because I enjoyed where Nolan ends up. The missing shot, however, is due to the slow beginning that doesn’t provide the necessary connection between characters. I needed to have a deeper investment with Nolan, initially, but by fifty pages I was fully sucked into to Nolan’s life. War Memorials is a wonderful novel for all tastes!
Author: Clint McCown
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Rating: 4 Shots of Espresso (The Red Eye)
I would first like to thank Graywolf Press for allowing me the opportunity to read Clint McCown's novel War Memorials. Graywolf Press graciously sent me McCown's novel to read and review.
I thought reading Clint McCown’s War Memorials for Memorial weekend was only fitting. What better way than read about the lives of veterans during the weekend most of us “remember” while vacay-ing. But even more fitting than the not-so-coincidence weekend connection was enjoying all of the novel’s carnival scenes—4H animals, Ferris wheels, fried food and the demolition derby. I decided to take a reading break by going to Chico’s very own Silver Dollar Fair where I watched the Sprint cars, ate a soft pretzel with amazing nacho cheese and saw my favorite little furry friends—sheep and baby goats. Though I didn’t go to the demolition derby, I am now well versed that McCown’s figure eight track was much more exciting than Chico’s version where they line up. But you didn’t come to read about my fair adventure…
…back to McCown’s story, which is of a man on the way to an unsuccessful and pitiful life. The main character, Nolan Vann, has lost his job, his cockroach eating lizard and possibly his pregnant wife, Laney. So why read? That’s what I thought about twenty pages in, but the novel is MUCH MORE than a pathetic man “finding” himself. McCown’s War Memorials examines how a man who seems to have nothing has a lot—he has relationships with everyone in his community. Nolan isn’t trying to form his identity; Nolan is developing his relationship to his family and his community. He meets snake worshipers, veterans of all the wars Nolan never fought, and people who Nolan repossess their cars. Nolan is a man who finds a place for himself in a community he doesn’t belong once other community outcasts reach out to him.
I recommend Clint McCown’s War Memorials to anyone who wants to remind himself or herself that individuality is a good thing. McCown reminds his readers to acknowledge the past but, also, create your future; be yourself. I give War Memorials four shots of espresso because I enjoyed where Nolan ends up. The missing shot, however, is due to the slow beginning that doesn’t provide the necessary connection between characters. I needed to have a deeper investment with Nolan, initially, but by fifty pages I was fully sucked into to Nolan’s life. War Memorials is a wonderful novel for all tastes!
April 16, 2009
"War Memorials" is a great book and has more application to my novel in progress than any other book I've read recently. The story is told through the voice of Nolan, a man living in the shadow of his war hero father in small town Tennessee. It's a thoroughly enjoyable read -- comic and dark, quirky and poetic, and structured beautifully with nary a word too many, a thought too few. McCown has a cinematic style and stays in scene throughout his chapters, yet finds moments to include amazing lines of poetry which rise to the top like cream. Beautiful. I plan to read all of McCown's work.
December 1, 2012
Splendid book. Very down-to-earth, casual story, more a series of short stories than a novel, although various plot elements do build up and come together in a final story.
I suppose that in many ways the story of this 33-year-old lost soul, trying to make sense of life, is the story of the life I didn’t have. I left my small home town and have yet to marry, unhappily or otherwise, but the main street dive, the county fair, the care center, all seemed entirely recognizable and real. Fine writing.
I suppose that in many ways the story of this 33-year-old lost soul, trying to make sense of life, is the story of the life I didn’t have. I left my small home town and have yet to marry, unhappily or otherwise, but the main street dive, the county fair, the care center, all seemed entirely recognizable and real. Fine writing.
August 24, 2015
Nolan Vann is sleepwalking through life. His wife is cheating on him, his father just fired him, and the only job he can find is repossessing his neighbors' items. Yet doing this job brings him out in the world, makes him more aware of other people's problems, and realize that he has to take charge of his own life rather than letting others making decisions for him. Incredibly funny and poignant.
April 3, 2016
Outstanding. Funny and honest, I really enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews