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Salad Days
A classic punk coming of age novel. A fast-paced, engrossing, and thoroughly enjoyable read. - AK Press
300 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 6, 2022
My first love is music, specifically punk rock and even more boiled down I love first wave American Hardcore. As I’ve gotten older and read countless books and stories on all the scenes across the country I’ve grown to appreciate how communal it could be.
This is a pretty good, fun read. It’s a work of fiction set amongst the very real backdrop of early 80s American punk rock. This could be the story of hundreds of bands and although it wasn’t something I was a part of personally, it comes across as pretty genuine.
This is a pretty good, fun read. It’s a work of fiction set amongst the very real backdrop of early 80s American punk rock. This could be the story of hundreds of bands and although it wasn’t something I was a part of personally, it comes across as pretty genuine.
May 11, 2012
one of my all time favorite books. It takes place during the time of the 1980's American D.I.Y. punk revolution, and for anyone old enough to remember one minute blasts of powerchorded guitar fury, drums sounding like the set was on fire and the poor fellow on the drum stool had to highhandedly beat back the blaze with his sticks, while the bass player flailed wildly against heavy gauge strings to create a bassline you could feel in your sternum all the way in the back of the hall...and all the while the person at the front of the band with the microphone would go from shriek, to barked to growled out to shouted lvrics about social injustice, and anarchy, and about letting love be your only religion. If you're old enough to have gone to a few shows like that, whether in 86 or last week...then you will definitely relate to Frank and the rest of the cast of characters in this wonderful book
February 13, 2008
"His head looked like a skull covered in sour cream"
this quote and others to come
if I remember are the reason this book gets one star versus none
I'm a poet!
this quote and others to come
if I remember are the reason this book gets one star versus none
I'm a poet!
March 12, 2014
Book was great. Got it tattooed on my shin!
April 17, 2020
This book was recommended to me by a family member who grew up in the punk scene, as I, though young, have an affinity for it as well. I received it via an inter-library loan, and almost gave up on it 100 or so pages in. I am glad I didn't though because it did pick up a little. The first chunk of the book discusses these teenagers' high school punk band and their teenage rebellion, while the later part of the book discusses the main character's tour with a different band. The first part was essentially plot-less. Not in writing style, but in action it felt almost like a diary– this day happened, then the next, then the next with all the mundanity included. This part could absolutely not hold my attention and I stopped reading books as a whole for almost a month. Nothing was calling me back to this one, and I don't like to leave books unfinished nor read more than one at a time. But out of sheer force, I powered through and made it to the next portion which was the tour. This part, though again, diary-like, was significantly more interesting and actually had some meaningful conflict and rise and fall.
What I do think needs to be commented on and is the saving grace of this book is Romalotti's writing. It is incredibly good and frequently nearly poetic. It was such a shame that a lot of the time he had such a beautiful way of saying absolutely nothing. The book was also extremely well-researched and I appreciated actual accurate references to some of the big cities of punk and hardcore, including my own.
Ultimately I feel like this book and this author had so much failed potential and I wanted to love it so much more than I did. In fact, I'm only 10 days removed from finishing it and I can only remember one or two character's names. I don't feel like I would recommend this to anyone other that die-hard classic punk & hardcore fans that don't care much about the story as long as the references they want to see are there.
What I do think needs to be commented on and is the saving grace of this book is Romalotti's writing. It is incredibly good and frequently nearly poetic. It was such a shame that a lot of the time he had such a beautiful way of saying absolutely nothing. The book was also extremely well-researched and I appreciated actual accurate references to some of the big cities of punk and hardcore, including my own.
Ultimately I feel like this book and this author had so much failed potential and I wanted to love it so much more than I did. In fact, I'm only 10 days removed from finishing it and I can only remember one or two character's names. I don't feel like I would recommend this to anyone other that die-hard classic punk & hardcore fans that don't care much about the story as long as the references they want to see are there.
June 13, 2023
ugh this book was SOOO GOOD im sad its over!! The characters were so endearing and believable, its like, you rele got to know them and go through life with them!!! im rele into music and loved all the intimacy with the scene, touring, ups and downs, recording, everything.... it was honestly so good!!!! The pacing and storytelling is PERFECT! i love this so much and wouldn't have changed anything about it
March 13, 2024
If you ever fantasized about what it might have been like to get in a van and tour the U.S. in a regionally-popular punk band, check out "Salad Days" by Charles Romalotti and also "Get in the Van," by Henry Rollins. One is fiction, the other nonfiction, but both will leave you feeling in need of a shower.
Romalotti's book, which reads like it's got to be based on at least some factual incidents, takes you on an up close journey with the Jerk Offs, from Kansas, as they attempt to complete a two-month tour that always seems one broken gasket or missed meal away from imploding.
I'm right there with the lead, a guy named Frank Smith, as he slowly learns that just because other kids are into the same music and scene he's into doesn't mean that music and scene aren't absolutely littered with assholes. I had a similar revelation about twenty years ago, around the time I first read "Salad Days".
Frank's a good character to follow around, and almost feels like a composite of several people I knew from my days going to hardcore shows. His determination to simply follow through on his goals, and his disinterest in things like casual sex, money, and drugs, is admirable, and yet he doesn't come off high-handed at all.
It's an excellent book and one I highly recommend if you're into punk. Honestly, the only reason I took two decades between readings is the print is super small. I figured I'd better re-read it again now instead of waiting another twenty years.
Romalotti's book, which reads like it's got to be based on at least some factual incidents, takes you on an up close journey with the Jerk Offs, from Kansas, as they attempt to complete a two-month tour that always seems one broken gasket or missed meal away from imploding.
I'm right there with the lead, a guy named Frank Smith, as he slowly learns that just because other kids are into the same music and scene he's into doesn't mean that music and scene aren't absolutely littered with assholes. I had a similar revelation about twenty years ago, around the time I first read "Salad Days".
Frank's a good character to follow around, and almost feels like a composite of several people I knew from my days going to hardcore shows. His determination to simply follow through on his goals, and his disinterest in things like casual sex, money, and drugs, is admirable, and yet he doesn't come off high-handed at all.
It's an excellent book and one I highly recommend if you're into punk. Honestly, the only reason I took two decades between readings is the print is super small. I figured I'd better re-read it again now instead of waiting another twenty years.
August 10, 2018
Read this 20 years after I bought it. Writing is uneven but the sentiment and passion is evident.
August 11, 2009
Read NOTHING by this guy. He writes like a barely literate 14 year old, tossing in appearances by his favorite bands, building leads to stories and characters that go nowhere, delivering line by line conversations that drag for pages unnecessarily... I swear he had no editor. Lame in every respect (and I actually like punk). There's a *reason* he had to self-publish. Save yourself!
March 1, 2008
Charles published this novel independently. I was so engulfed in it I just couldn't put it down. It totally threw me back to high school years and punk rock music. He took a lot of time trying to promote this book on his own and should be applauded for a job well done.
June 14, 2010
I haven't read this since college, but it was fun enough. If memory serves, I picked it up at a punk rock show. If you're under 20 and listen to 1980s punk, it's not a must-read (but an enjoyable one). If you're over 21, it's probably a little juvenile but could be an ok trip down memory lane.
Want to read
September 25, 2007I borrowed this book from Jason Kapusta in March of 2003. I'm going to read it soon.
April 21, 2009
Aamzing book amazing Author.. He was just uncanny. I loved all of his books
November 30, 2009
This is one of the coolest books I have ever read and I think it always will be. I loved reading how this kid grew up singing. I think its pretty rad.
June 23, 2011
Really damn good
February 9, 2008
heh - i know who some of these people are in real life.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews