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Downtown Owl
New York Times Bestselling Author Chuck Klosterman's First Novel
Somewhere in North Dakota, there is a town called Owl that isn't there. Disco is over, but punk never happened. They don't have cable. They don't really have pop culture, unless you count grain prices and alcoholism. People work hard and then they die. They hate the government and impregnate teenage girls. But that's not nearly as awful as it sounds; in fact, sometimes it's perfect.
Mitch Hrlicka lives in Owl. He plays high school football and worries about his weirdness, or lack thereof. Julia Rabia just moved to Owl. She gets free booze and falls in love with a self-loathing bison farmer who listens to Goats Head Soup. Horace Jones has resided in Owl for seventy-three years. He consumes a lot of coffee, thinks about his dead wife, and understands the truth. They all know each other completely, except that they've never met.
Like a colder, Reagan-era version of The Last Picture Show fused with Friday Night Lights, Chuck Klosterman's Downtown Owl is the unpretentious, darkly comedic story of how it feels to exist in a community where rural mythology and violent reality are pretty much the same thing. Loaded with detail and unified by a (very real) blizzard, it's technically about certain people in a certain place at a certain time...but it's really about a problem. And the problem is this: What does it mean to be a normal person? And there is no answer. But in Downtown Owl, what matters more is how you ask the question.
275 pages, Paperback
Published June 23, 2009
About the author
Chuck Klosterman
117 books5,259 followersCharles John Klosterman is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for Esquire and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for The New York Times Magazine. He was awarded the ASCAP Deems Taylor award for music criticism in 2002.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
October 30, 2017
The book has all the signs of another typical Klosterman book, nonfiction, fiction alike. Funny, unique, quirky, bold. Takes place near/in his hometown of Fargo, North Dakota. He can never resist inserting music industry trivia. Which I love. It shows a passion of his. I will admit I never identified with his type of musics, so maybe that contributed to my dislike here. But, alas, Downtown Owl was greatly disappointing. Especially after The Visible Man & I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains, the last two books I read by him, the former being one of my all time favorites.
Downtown Owl was told from several different character perspectives. A few of which, honestly, I could not care less about, and, honestly, found myself barely paying attention to, wanting to finish the chapter so as to return to other characters' lives that were more interesting to me. I will say, however, as always, I appreciated his numerous approaches to storytelling, his unique structure/format, such as one chapter being told through a student's answers on a test on Orwell's 1984, another told "drink" by "drink", another told by what was "actually said" versus what was "thought", another where it was listed what every single person in the room's arbitrary thoughts were.
Downtown Owl was told from several different character perspectives. A few of which, honestly, I could not care less about, and, honestly, found myself barely paying attention to, wanting to finish the chapter so as to return to other characters' lives that were more interesting to me. I will say, however, as always, I appreciated his numerous approaches to storytelling, his unique structure/format, such as one chapter being told through a student's answers on a test on Orwell's 1984, another told "drink" by "drink", another told by what was "actually said" versus what was "thought", another where it was listed what every single person in the room's arbitrary thoughts were.
September 12, 2018
I approached this book with some trepidation. Chuck Klosterman is a master essayist, but for some writers the transition from non-fiction to fiction can be dicey. I really enjoyed Klosterman's earlier work. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is perhaps his most famous, but I also liked Fargo Rock City and IV. I was going to feel really bad if I hated this book. But I didn't! In fact, I enjoyed it very much
Klosterman manages to insert his trademark wit and predilection for steaming hot takes into the mouths and brains of his fictional characters in the small town of Owl, North Dakota with great panache.
The tipoff for what's coming is on the first page of the book - a newspaper story about a deadly 1984 blizzard. As the narrative proceeds, each chapter has the date prominently displayed, which gives the reader a growing sense of dread for the small scale small town tragedy that's looming closer and closer.
I like that Klosterman sets his book in 1984 which allows him to present Orwell's 1984 as both text and subtext. Here, high school students are reading 1984 just before the year 1984. The reader is invited to see the parallels between small town life, where everyone knows everyone else's business and secrets, and the dystopian scenario Orwell presents, where an authoritarian government keeps track of everyone's business and secrets. It's an unexpectedly stimulating contrast. I liked the way Klosterman discusses the book and at the same time allows the reader to draw their own conclusions.
I was amused by the character Mitch, an obvious avatar for Klosterman himself. Mitch shares a lot of the anxieties and traits Klosterman has revealed in past essays about himself. The only difference is that Mitch doesn't care about or like rock music - and Klosterman lives and breathes it. I wonder why Klosterman tweaked the Mitch character like that. As a prophylactic against accusations of autobiography? A strange choice.
Overall I thought this was a great first effort as Klosterman grows beyond the restrictions of the non-fiction essay format. Very entertaining and propulsive. Nice work.
Klosterman manages to insert his trademark wit and predilection for steaming hot takes into the mouths and brains of his fictional characters in the small town of Owl, North Dakota with great panache.
The tipoff for what's coming is on the first page of the book - a newspaper story about a deadly 1984 blizzard. As the narrative proceeds, each chapter has the date prominently displayed, which gives the reader a growing sense of dread for the small scale small town tragedy that's looming closer and closer.
I like that Klosterman sets his book in 1984 which allows him to present Orwell's 1984 as both text and subtext. Here, high school students are reading 1984 just before the year 1984. The reader is invited to see the parallels between small town life, where everyone knows everyone else's business and secrets, and the dystopian scenario Orwell presents, where an authoritarian government keeps track of everyone's business and secrets. It's an unexpectedly stimulating contrast. I liked the way Klosterman discusses the book and at the same time allows the reader to draw their own conclusions.
I was amused by the character Mitch, an obvious avatar for Klosterman himself. Mitch shares a lot of the anxieties and traits Klosterman has revealed in past essays about himself. The only difference is that Mitch doesn't care about or like rock music - and Klosterman lives and breathes it. I wonder why Klosterman tweaked the Mitch character like that. As a prophylactic against accusations of autobiography? A strange choice.
Overall I thought this was a great first effort as Klosterman grows beyond the restrictions of the non-fiction essay format. Very entertaining and propulsive. Nice work.
August 3, 2010
I'm just going to say right now: prepare yourself for the ending. You will be breezing along enjoying the story and the writing and Klosterman's incredibly unique way of seeing things and then BAM! The ending just hits you over the head and there is no real resolution and you will walk around in a kind of book daze for the next week feeling angry. But it is an anger tempered with some other emotions such as embarrassment--Why didn't I see that coming?--and rationalization--Well, it is his book and he can end it anyway he wants, and indeed there were so many other memorable parts.
Ultimately, this is an awesome book, with several laugh-out-loud-read-them-to-any-one-who-is-willing parts. People who have spent any amount of time in a small town would enjoy the explanation of the change in the Town of Owl's mascot, which I meant to read out loud to my mother, but the book went back before that could happen. His competing analysis of George Orwell's 1984 from an adult/teenager perspective has clearly been fermenting inside of him for years, possibly since high school. The hidden rules of the single woman in a small town are hilarious, as are the twin internal monologues during a conversation between a man and a woman in a bar.
"Glee" is one word to describe how I feel when I read Chuck Klosterman. In this, his first work of fiction, I felt a sustained glee for 250 of its pages. Those last six pages? Be prepared. They are coming.
Ultimately, this is an awesome book, with several laugh-out-loud-read-them-to-any-one-who-is-willing parts. People who have spent any amount of time in a small town would enjoy the explanation of the change in the Town of Owl's mascot, which I meant to read out loud to my mother, but the book went back before that could happen. His competing analysis of George Orwell's 1984 from an adult/teenager perspective has clearly been fermenting inside of him for years, possibly since high school. The hidden rules of the single woman in a small town are hilarious, as are the twin internal monologues during a conversation between a man and a woman in a bar.
"Glee" is one word to describe how I feel when I read Chuck Klosterman. In this, his first work of fiction, I felt a sustained glee for 250 of its pages. Those last six pages? Be prepared. They are coming.
December 30, 2010
This book is indeed a revelation because I can’t remember the last time I read a book and realized that the author not only got everything right, but also cooked up a novel so smoothly blended that at the end, it doesn’t really register that you have read a slice of small town Americana told with deft humor and clear love for the characters and town, a gentle character-driven yet plot heavy book and a modern naturalist novel with an environment cruelly and randomly shaping the lives of people whose wills should have been enough to sustain them in the end but cannot stand in the face of stronger, impersonal forces that act against them. Yes, I may be wrong as hell on this, but I really do see strong naturalist elements at work in a novel that is also steeped in sentimentality. And this is a very good reason to love this novel because to have pulled this off speaks of a talent that I could kick myself for almost missing. Read my entire review here.
June 23, 2010
Klosterman's non-fiction is insightful to the times his subject appeared. His views on "Saved By The Bell," "Star Wars," and pop music shine a light on culture in ways typically not considered possible. The same is true for his first work of fiction, "Downtown Owl." Having attended a small town high school it was refreshing to see a picture of a town where everyone knows everything about everyone else while not actually knowing other people.
December 1, 2012
This book struck me as an epic in miniature. Perhaps Owl just wasn't big enough for a full epic. I actually liked that better though. I'm not big on epics, but this managed to get some of the epic quality and scope while still retaining a unified core emotional development despite the multiple characters. Some of it seemed a bit predetermined, sandwiched as it was between the two articles, but it was certainly one of the more interesting small town novels I've read.
November 10, 2012
It's okay, a little slice of life story, but it didn't have much oomph. It can't compare to his non-fiction, but it's still worth reading. If you like Tom Perotta or Jeffrey Eugenides and are looking for something similar this is a good book for you. I liked 2/3 of the end, it should have gone all the way.
Edit: After a day of reflection I think it's better than I gave it credit for. He does some nice subtle inter-weaving that took some separation to see.
Edit: After a day of reflection I think it's better than I gave it credit for. He does some nice subtle inter-weaving that took some separation to see.
April 23, 2014
Read on a plane and coach journey back from Romania, this was an incredibly easy and enaging read but full of the pathos and sorrow of everyday life in a small town in North Dakota, the feelings and the lifes of the characters however are Universal. A great book, funny, humane and full of the tragic despair and banality of human existence.
November 1, 2011
It took me a minute to get into it but I ended up really enjoying it. Parts were humorous, parts poetic, parts rather dull and annoying... So it did a good job of describing life, I guess.
March 17, 2025
On one hand, I wish I read this earlier. On the other hand, I’m happy I got to read it now for the first time. Audibly laughed numerous times.
7.5/10
7.5/10
August 18, 2009
This is an incredibly difficult book to rate because there's a very clear dividing line in it. Prior to said line, the characterization, dialogue and small bits of pathos allow it a strong three stars, bordering on four. However, after the line, the story falls off a cliff and never recovers save for the completely unrelated excerpt included from Klosterman's forthcoming book of essays at the end.
Downtown Owl focuses on three characters living in fictional Owl, North Dakota with short dalliances dedicated to other townspeople. Even though Julia, Mitch and Horace are the focus of the majority of the chapters, Klosterman attempts to make it clear that Owl is the star of the book, but doesn't make it clear enough. The parts that cover the idiosyncrasies of a small town obsessed with high school football and everyone knowing everything about everyone else are far more entertaining than any of the three main characters. While tackling the newcomer archetype in Julia, the disaffected youth archetype in Mitch, and the guy who has lived there forever archetype in Horace, their stories could have easily taken up two chapters a piece even though each of their tales were fascinating and fun. Klosterman wants to focus on giving the reader a snapshot of small town life and it feels like the attention given to the three main characters dilutes that focus.
The dialogue is clever and enjoyable as long as people with Klosterman experience can get over that it all sounds like Klosterman himself. I've said before that he is his own favorite subject and he has his own tics as a writer (the use of the word "iconography", hilarious discussions about music, utilizing lists, etc.) that work for and against him based on how much the reader agrees with him. My problem with Klosterman, a guy I tend to see eye-to-eye with about 65% of the time, is that he just seems so pleased with himself during parts of the book. When he plays around with conventional dialogue and explains the thought process of the conversation between Julia and Vance, I get the distinct impression that Klosterman thinks he's the coolest mofo around for turning a normal scene on its head. And despite this, he doesn't do some basic things you'd expect an author to do when writing a novel, mainly tie everything together in some meaningful way. Instead, the characters all exist outside of one another and never show up in the same scene together except one passing greeting at the high school between Julia and Mitch.
Also, let's talk about the terrible ending for a second, so **SPOILER ALERT** for this paragraph. A snow storm, the news clipping of which opens the book (FORESHADOWING!), comes literally out of nowhere (think of that scene in the first few issues of Jeff Smith's Bone where they kept warning Fone Bone that winter comes fast in these parts and then eight inches of snow falls in a giant heap) and kills two of the three main characters and at least one ancillary dude. Not only was this section boring beyond belief save for Julia's death (which in itself completely shortchanged her character moreso than any other), but it resolved nothing at all. Was Klosterman going for a "nothing ever changes" theme with the snow storm? Was it supposed to purify the town in some way? Because if so, that wasn't made entirely clear. I can't begin to describe how frustrating it was to wade through the endless descriptions of snow blanketing these people to whom the reader has become invested and then have the two with unresolved issues die while the elderly man without the issues, though probably the most interesting of the main characters, lives. IRONY! It really rubbed me the wrong way and subsequently tainted my view of the rest of the book.
So, it's a first novel that shows tons of potential for his future endeavors.
Downtown Owl focuses on three characters living in fictional Owl, North Dakota with short dalliances dedicated to other townspeople. Even though Julia, Mitch and Horace are the focus of the majority of the chapters, Klosterman attempts to make it clear that Owl is the star of the book, but doesn't make it clear enough. The parts that cover the idiosyncrasies of a small town obsessed with high school football and everyone knowing everything about everyone else are far more entertaining than any of the three main characters. While tackling the newcomer archetype in Julia, the disaffected youth archetype in Mitch, and the guy who has lived there forever archetype in Horace, their stories could have easily taken up two chapters a piece even though each of their tales were fascinating and fun. Klosterman wants to focus on giving the reader a snapshot of small town life and it feels like the attention given to the three main characters dilutes that focus.
The dialogue is clever and enjoyable as long as people with Klosterman experience can get over that it all sounds like Klosterman himself. I've said before that he is his own favorite subject and he has his own tics as a writer (the use of the word "iconography", hilarious discussions about music, utilizing lists, etc.) that work for and against him based on how much the reader agrees with him. My problem with Klosterman, a guy I tend to see eye-to-eye with about 65% of the time, is that he just seems so pleased with himself during parts of the book. When he plays around with conventional dialogue and explains the thought process of the conversation between Julia and Vance, I get the distinct impression that Klosterman thinks he's the coolest mofo around for turning a normal scene on its head. And despite this, he doesn't do some basic things you'd expect an author to do when writing a novel, mainly tie everything together in some meaningful way. Instead, the characters all exist outside of one another and never show up in the same scene together except one passing greeting at the high school between Julia and Mitch.
Also, let's talk about the terrible ending for a second, so **SPOILER ALERT** for this paragraph. A snow storm, the news clipping of which opens the book (FORESHADOWING!), comes literally out of nowhere (think of that scene in the first few issues of Jeff Smith's Bone where they kept warning Fone Bone that winter comes fast in these parts and then eight inches of snow falls in a giant heap) and kills two of the three main characters and at least one ancillary dude. Not only was this section boring beyond belief save for Julia's death (which in itself completely shortchanged her character moreso than any other), but it resolved nothing at all. Was Klosterman going for a "nothing ever changes" theme with the snow storm? Was it supposed to purify the town in some way? Because if so, that wasn't made entirely clear. I can't begin to describe how frustrating it was to wade through the endless descriptions of snow blanketing these people to whom the reader has become invested and then have the two with unresolved issues die while the elderly man without the issues, though probably the most interesting of the main characters, lives. IRONY! It really rubbed me the wrong way and subsequently tainted my view of the rest of the book.
So, it's a first novel that shows tons of potential for his future endeavors.
April 18, 2026
I did not get it.
June 9, 2016
I knew what to expect from Downtown Owl the moment I picked it up.
Because of when the storyline takes place - August of 1983 to February of 1984 - and because Chuck Klosterman trades exclusively in pop-culture, there would be:
References to rock music - Def Leppard, ZZ Top, perhaps Journey and/or Air Supply. Klosterman loves to talk about music and the middle '80s were a goldmine for rock 'n roll and catchy pop songs.
References to politics - Ronald Reagan was in office. No self-respecting guru of popular culture will miss a chance to mention the Reagan administration if given the chance.
References to movies - Flashdance, Staying Alive, and The Big Chill all had a formidable presence at the box office and therefore should warrant at least a mention in a book set in late '83/early '84 while being written in 2008.
Beyond all of that, there would also be many mentions of sports - basketball, football, and hockey - and at least passing nods to getting high - mostly by smoking pot, but other recreational drugs could also factor.
So... toss all of that into a novel filled with quirky, yet intensely relatable characters, mix in the inherent appeal of a legitimately small town, and garnish with a dollop of pointed self-introspection.
VIOLA!! A Chuck Klosterman Novel!
To be fair, I pretty much expected Downtown Owl to really be an extension of his collected essays only with different names for the characters.
This wouldn't have been a bad thing, though. I love Klosterman's essays and while I don't always agree with his opinions, I greatly enjoy reading what his opinions are. Plus, I'd already read The Visible Man (his second fiction novel) and thought myself prepared for what his initial attempt at straight-up fiction would be like.
I was both completely correct and completely wrong in my expectations at the same time.
Downtown Owl has all the aspects that I mentioned (for the most part) and Klosterman's ability to break down how human beings think and behave using the lens of pop-culture is still very much on display here... but there was something else. Something… unavoidably substantial amid a story that quite honestly could have been no more solid than a breeze.
I was a bit past the halfway point when I had the ending spoiled for me. When that happened, I was still planning on finishing the book, but I was completely caught off guard by how the book was going end when compared to what was happening where I was in it.
As I kept reading, I came to realize what the something else was:
A tangible humanity to the characters. A firm and present reality to the town. A sense of absolute rightness about the situations. Everything just felt like it belonged exactly where it was.
This all made perfect sense to me when I got to the end and I was still a bit surprised by what happened.
That doesn’t happen, does it? To be legitimately shocked by an ending I knew was going to come to pass? How?
Well, in my opinion, the answer is good writing.
There’s nothing outrageous about Downtown Owl. There’s barely even anything that glances in the general direction of crazy. And in the absence of preposterous distractions, I was utterly and completely taken in by the stories the main characters needed to tell.
Because of when the storyline takes place - August of 1983 to February of 1984 - and because Chuck Klosterman trades exclusively in pop-culture, there would be:
References to rock music - Def Leppard, ZZ Top, perhaps Journey and/or Air Supply. Klosterman loves to talk about music and the middle '80s were a goldmine for rock 'n roll and catchy pop songs.
References to politics - Ronald Reagan was in office. No self-respecting guru of popular culture will miss a chance to mention the Reagan administration if given the chance.
References to movies - Flashdance, Staying Alive, and The Big Chill all had a formidable presence at the box office and therefore should warrant at least a mention in a book set in late '83/early '84 while being written in 2008.
Beyond all of that, there would also be many mentions of sports - basketball, football, and hockey - and at least passing nods to getting high - mostly by smoking pot, but other recreational drugs could also factor.
So... toss all of that into a novel filled with quirky, yet intensely relatable characters, mix in the inherent appeal of a legitimately small town, and garnish with a dollop of pointed self-introspection.
VIOLA!! A Chuck Klosterman Novel!
To be fair, I pretty much expected Downtown Owl to really be an extension of his collected essays only with different names for the characters.
This wouldn't have been a bad thing, though. I love Klosterman's essays and while I don't always agree with his opinions, I greatly enjoy reading what his opinions are. Plus, I'd already read The Visible Man (his second fiction novel) and thought myself prepared for what his initial attempt at straight-up fiction would be like.
I was both completely correct and completely wrong in my expectations at the same time.
Downtown Owl has all the aspects that I mentioned (for the most part) and Klosterman's ability to break down how human beings think and behave using the lens of pop-culture is still very much on display here... but there was something else. Something… unavoidably substantial amid a story that quite honestly could have been no more solid than a breeze.
I was a bit past the halfway point when I had the ending spoiled for me. When that happened, I was still planning on finishing the book, but I was completely caught off guard by how the book was going end when compared to what was happening where I was in it.
As I kept reading, I came to realize what the something else was:
A tangible humanity to the characters. A firm and present reality to the town. A sense of absolute rightness about the situations. Everything just felt like it belonged exactly where it was.
This all made perfect sense to me when I got to the end and I was still a bit surprised by what happened.
That doesn’t happen, does it? To be legitimately shocked by an ending I knew was going to come to pass? How?
Well, in my opinion, the answer is good writing.
There’s nothing outrageous about Downtown Owl. There’s barely even anything that glances in the general direction of crazy. And in the absence of preposterous distractions, I was utterly and completely taken in by the stories the main characters needed to tell.
September 8, 2016
Klosterman adeptly captures the zeitgeist of a particular fictional town in South Dakota--the smallness, the remoteness, the lack of pretty much anything to do but play sports (if you're still in school) or (if you're not) sit in bars or coffee shops and wile away your time in idle chatter.
The author does coax a bit of depth from the book's three protagonists, who alternate points of view in the story. But only a bit. The author seems more concerned with showing the breadth of experience in the town than on digging deeply into these character's lives. I would have liked to see the protagonists shown in times of singular, life-altering crises that played out in the course of the book. Instead, the author involves his characters in routine challenges that never really test them. The ending, though dramatic, does little to satisfy the need this book has for weighty internal conflict throughout.
From a writing standpoint, Klosterman plays around quite a bit with form, experimenting with many different narrative styles. On the one hand, this makes for an interesting read, one in which the narrative is constantly changing. On the other hand, the narrative styles often get in the way of the story as a whole. It begins to seem like a game of how much the author can impress us with stylistic variety. Can Klosterman turn a phrase? Sure, he can be witty and surprising at times. But at other times, he can be sloppy and oh-too-cute with language that falls flat.
If you like to be reminded of specific songs and bands and movies and TV shows and books and magazines and products from the '80s, and if you prefer a lighter read, then maybe you will enjoy this book more than I did.
The author does coax a bit of depth from the book's three protagonists, who alternate points of view in the story. But only a bit. The author seems more concerned with showing the breadth of experience in the town than on digging deeply into these character's lives. I would have liked to see the protagonists shown in times of singular, life-altering crises that played out in the course of the book. Instead, the author involves his characters in routine challenges that never really test them. The ending, though dramatic, does little to satisfy the need this book has for weighty internal conflict throughout.
From a writing standpoint, Klosterman plays around quite a bit with form, experimenting with many different narrative styles. On the one hand, this makes for an interesting read, one in which the narrative is constantly changing. On the other hand, the narrative styles often get in the way of the story as a whole. It begins to seem like a game of how much the author can impress us with stylistic variety. Can Klosterman turn a phrase? Sure, he can be witty and surprising at times. But at other times, he can be sloppy and oh-too-cute with language that falls flat.
If you like to be reminded of specific songs and bands and movies and TV shows and books and magazines and products from the '80s, and if you prefer a lighter read, then maybe you will enjoy this book more than I did.
June 12, 2017
There seems to be mixed feelings about Chuck Klosterman, fiction or not. What I'll say in regards to that is that Klosterman is generally consistent with how he approaches subjects, offering a good history and decent reflection, even if it's only his personal reflections. Downtown Owl is not a perfect book or work of fiction, but there's a lot to it that I think some people might not be able to relate to if you've never lived in a place like Owl.
I was raised just north of North Dakota in a town very similar to the one described within Klosterman's story: quiet by 5pm, high school football more important than it should be/would be anywhere else, seniors gathering in droves for coffee, generations of farming families with no desire to leave beyond the town they live. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed this book so much. I saw many familiar things in these pages. Things that are by no means glamorous or charming, and that tend to get overlooked by people who have never experienced a place like Owl. These things were surprising to find described in such relatable detail by an author like Klosterman, a man who seems so entrenched in pop culture and modern living. A stark contrast to the setting of the novel.
If you're looking for insight into a place where things don't happen unless you make them happen, and a place where the people never seem to change generation after generation, even as the world around them does, then this is the book for you. My advice is simply not to write this book off because it lacks the typical Klosterman edge. It's there, but spread out and slow moving, like the North Dakota prairies it speaks of.
I was raised just north of North Dakota in a town very similar to the one described within Klosterman's story: quiet by 5pm, high school football more important than it should be/would be anywhere else, seniors gathering in droves for coffee, generations of farming families with no desire to leave beyond the town they live. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed this book so much. I saw many familiar things in these pages. Things that are by no means glamorous or charming, and that tend to get overlooked by people who have never experienced a place like Owl. These things were surprising to find described in such relatable detail by an author like Klosterman, a man who seems so entrenched in pop culture and modern living. A stark contrast to the setting of the novel.
If you're looking for insight into a place where things don't happen unless you make them happen, and a place where the people never seem to change generation after generation, even as the world around them does, then this is the book for you. My advice is simply not to write this book off because it lacks the typical Klosterman edge. It's there, but spread out and slow moving, like the North Dakota prairies it speaks of.
September 3, 2009
I hadn't read any Klosterman prior to this, but he's one of those authors who seems to keep popping up via quotes or peripheral glances at other people's bookshelves, so you know, why not?
It's not bad stuff. As I'm sure is the generic description of his style, he goes the Carver/Hemingway route, which I guess is the kind of reference one is somehow compelled to make when one encounters a relatively laconic author. But yeah, Klosterman excels at describing things via a series of evocative omissions, so inside the descriptive gaps, you actually end up with a spectral, negative projection of things. It's nice - like a good, slow-burning curry.
The only real issue I have with this book is the persistence of what I can only think to call the intrusive mass cultural narrator. I mean, ok, this story is supposed to be taking place in the mid eighties. The act of evoking time and place here is sort of messed with by the aforementioned parsimony of descriptive narration. The fix for that seems to be to just randomly throw in quick, shallow references to a lot of low-hanging mass cultural moments (although, ok, ten points to the bearded gentleman for managing to mention Metal Machine Music). None of this seems really organically related to the story itself. A quick substitution of references and all of a sudden you've got a story happening in 1974 instead of 1984.
Otherwise, it's swell.
October 14, 2009
Throughout this book I was fully prepared to give it three stars, for what it lacks in originality or finely crafted fictional prose, it more than makes up for in compulsive readability and sheer entertainment. Make no mistake, this is a Chuck Klosterman book that just happens to be a novel. You still find the same types of witticisms and insights into pop culture, and unfortunately all too often the same type of dialogue, as well as a knowledge of rural North Dakota that could only come from someone who experienced it firsthand. (It seems like Klosterman has a few axes to grind about his childhood, but if it's the main focus it doesn't come across as too in-your-face. The reason I'm giving it an extra star though, is the ending, which I won't spoil, but suffice to say I didn't see it coming. That was entirely the point, but it impressed the hell out of me coming from him. One could argue it was disappointing, and one may be right, but it gave me more pause than I was prepared for from a book I was expecting to enjoy, put down, and move on. Way to come out of an existential nowhere, Chuck. All in all, mediocre and certainly with its faults, a lot of them "first novel mistakes", but a promise of possibly more and better ones to come. If you're like me and devour everything he writes, you won't be disappointed, but otherwise you may wish to take it or leave it, but I would suggest sticking it out to the end, if for nothing else than a truly informed opinion.
August 30, 2010
Not a book I'd normally pick up, nor would I read it based on the book's jacket review. Probably one of the least compelling reviews I've ever read! So why am I reading it? Part of a book study I'm participating in.
Asked Grace to read the jacket review, I needed objective opinion, she figures the jacket and the write up were designed for the male reader. True enough the colours, font, language, picture are all masculine. So far though, I love this book. Again with the book's appearance was it by accident or design that the font size changed at least in one chapter?
So down to the book, Horace, Mitch, and Julia I love them all.
I probably spent more time thinking about this book than reading it. I loved the richness of the characters and the quirkiness of the entire town.
I was shocked by the ending and spent the last 30 pages in frozen disbelief! Silent tears spilled down my cheeks as I read in dismay. I really got attached to the characters.
I wanted this to be a tale about nothing, just the unique characters in a town, with no real end or beginning- just a yr in Owl or something.
Although I really enjoyed this book for the most, I'd be cautious about reading another kosterman.
Asked Grace to read the jacket review, I needed objective opinion, she figures the jacket and the write up were designed for the male reader. True enough the colours, font, language, picture are all masculine. So far though, I love this book. Again with the book's appearance was it by accident or design that the font size changed at least in one chapter?
So down to the book, Horace, Mitch, and Julia I love them all.
I probably spent more time thinking about this book than reading it. I loved the richness of the characters and the quirkiness of the entire town.
I was shocked by the ending and spent the last 30 pages in frozen disbelief! Silent tears spilled down my cheeks as I read in dismay. I really got attached to the characters.
I wanted this to be a tale about nothing, just the unique characters in a town, with no real end or beginning- just a yr in Owl or something.
Although I really enjoyed this book for the most, I'd be cautious about reading another kosterman.
October 18, 2009
I have only read one other Klosterman, SEX, DRUGS, AND COCOA PUFFS. I loved that, and I thoroughly enjoyed this as well. Klosterman's first novel is filled with apathy, sadness, violence, and yet, happiness as well.
Readers meet three residents of the small town of Owl: one an old man who's lived there his entire life, one high school senior whose future lays before him, and one schoolteacher who has recently moved to the small town from a big city. Klosterman uses the same wry humor and bemusement of pop culture found in his nonfiction to shape the commentary of these three residents. The ending will shock you, and the brilliance of the novel will come to light in the final section of the book.
I hope Klosterman will continue to explore fiction. It was an experience to feel connected to people, events, and a place I'd never met, and which many people in Owl seem to wish they weren't connected to. Hard to explain, given that many of the characters think there is nothing worthwhile in Owl, but I found something there for me.
Readers meet three residents of the small town of Owl: one an old man who's lived there his entire life, one high school senior whose future lays before him, and one schoolteacher who has recently moved to the small town from a big city. Klosterman uses the same wry humor and bemusement of pop culture found in his nonfiction to shape the commentary of these three residents. The ending will shock you, and the brilliance of the novel will come to light in the final section of the book.
I hope Klosterman will continue to explore fiction. It was an experience to feel connected to people, events, and a place I'd never met, and which many people in Owl seem to wish they weren't connected to. Hard to explain, given that many of the characters think there is nothing worthwhile in Owl, but I found something there for me.
October 16, 2010
as much as I love klosterman, I was surprised at how good this novel was. the short story he published in his last essay collection was terrible and I was expecting something along those lines. but, this prose read like his voice applied to the thoughts of someone other than him. the 3 main characters and all the supporting characters are well drawn, and the main character of the town/community of owl, nd is perfect. I know it doesn't exist, but I would like to visit. I can see that some people might not enjoy the way certain thought digressions or conversations felt a bit like mini-klosterman essays, but I loved it because what I really love about his essays is how they always feel like things real people think/say, but better. and, I think the fact that the town is so divorced from pop culture removes what might have been seen as a crutch for him-- there are no real digressions on the subject other than vance's diatribe about the stones (which is amazing). so glad to say I loved this.
June 24, 2020
Coming from a small town myself, the closest thing I've ever read to what it feels like to live there was Richard Russo's Empire Falls. But it doesn't hold a candle to Downtown Owl. Chuck Klosterman understands the quirks and weird idiosyncrasies of living together in an isolated setting better than anyone.
What you can learn from small towns in this book:
- People get bored of each other unless they have a weird physical/character quirk that makes them different.
- Your legacy is something you have no agency over whatsoever.
- The familiar becomes mythical and the mythical becomes familiar. People will extrapolate wildly on innocuous details and things that 1) shouldn't matter or 2) shouldn't happen at all.
- There is very little to expect in terms of excitement/improvement. If you don't find comfort in memories, you might not find it at all.
- Sports give meaning to existence because little else will.
For more details, I'll be breaking it down on Dead End Follies this Friday.
What you can learn from small towns in this book:
- People get bored of each other unless they have a weird physical/character quirk that makes them different.
- Your legacy is something you have no agency over whatsoever.
- The familiar becomes mythical and the mythical becomes familiar. People will extrapolate wildly on innocuous details and things that 1) shouldn't matter or 2) shouldn't happen at all.
- There is very little to expect in terms of excitement/improvement. If you don't find comfort in memories, you might not find it at all.
- Sports give meaning to existence because little else will.
For more details, I'll be breaking it down on Dead End Follies this Friday.
June 20, 2019
Sometimes an overarching plot is useful. Sometimes treating female character like they are people is useful.
I really wanted to like this. I'm from Minot, North Dakota and I felt like the book was true with how it was to grow up in a state like North Dakota.
I hated all the gay attacks. As a queer youth it was rather exhausting. I get it. The book is in the late 1980s and in North Dakota, but it was exhausting.
One thing that I liked about Downtown Owl was that the humor was pretty good. It made me genuinely laugh.
One of my biggest pet peeves was that their were 3 Main characters whose story was told from their point of view: Julia, Horace, and Mitch.
I felt Horace and Mitch were real I could feel their characters.
Julia was another story she was very one dimensional. All she cared about was her Love interest, Vance Druid. It was exhausting.
Also these three characters never met and I expected them to collide at the end. Which did not happen at all.
I was disappointed with this book.
I really wanted to like this. I'm from Minot, North Dakota and I felt like the book was true with how it was to grow up in a state like North Dakota.
I hated all the gay attacks. As a queer youth it was rather exhausting. I get it. The book is in the late 1980s and in North Dakota, but it was exhausting.
One thing that I liked about Downtown Owl was that the humor was pretty good. It made me genuinely laugh.
One of my biggest pet peeves was that their were 3 Main characters whose story was told from their point of view: Julia, Horace, and Mitch.
I felt Horace and Mitch were real I could feel their characters.
Julia was another story she was very one dimensional. All she cared about was her Love interest, Vance Druid. It was exhausting.
Also these three characters never met and I expected them to collide at the end. Which did not happen at all.
I was disappointed with this book.
October 1, 2009
Klosterman's novel Downtown Owl follows the inhabitants' lives and what it is like living in a small town. It takes place in the early 80's starting with the real life shootout with Criminal Gordon Kahl and ending with the famous blizzard in 1984. Despite following pretty normal people with pretty normal problems, Klosterman's novel is pretty fun to read, yet deservedly tragic as well. His humor and quirkiness is off the charts. Some chapters are written in a pretty post-modern fashion. However Klosterman's postmodern world is fun, light and simple, instead of the typical challenging, frustrating world most post-modern writers give us. Downtown Owl won't blow anybody away with how amazing it is...it is actually pretty normal on the amazing scale. However, if you want a good fun book to sit down and read that reminds you of what life is like outside of the big city, Downtown Owl may be the perfect read.
January 14, 2010
I haven't finished it yet but I already know I will deduct at least one star from my rating for a horrifying, sad, awful cat chapter in this book. When I started reading, I knew I would like the book -- it was witty, it was well-written, it made me chuckle. I don't know yet if that awful cat chapter actually has a place in the narrative or if it was just a chapter that could have been cut. Right now it's doing nothing but making me sick to my stomach. I wish it wasn't in there, and I don't think I can ever read it again.
Now that I've finished and know for sure that the cat chapter doesn't have to be there, I feel worse that it is. I really liked every other part of this book. I don't know if I can re-read it unless I tear those pages out. You aren't supposed to tell an author what shouldn't be in a book, but please. That part was so awful I cried.
Now that I've finished and know for sure that the cat chapter doesn't have to be there, I feel worse that it is. I really liked every other part of this book. I don't know if I can re-read it unless I tear those pages out. You aren't supposed to tell an author what shouldn't be in a book, but please. That part was so awful I cried.
September 15, 2014
I loved this book. At first. The character development and setting were so perfect, the storyline was amazing. The ending? Made me feel like the entire first 250 pages were a waste of my precious time. I literally spent two days extolling the wondrous virtues of this book, and the last 20 minutes yelling, "omg WHAT?! The ending was an insulting cop-out that seemed like Klosterman got tired of writing and needed to end it FAST. No resolution to any storyline. I am not even speaking simply of the deaths, because sad endings are part of life and literature, but literally no storyline in this book was resolved. None. Even the newspaper article at the end gave almost no information...yuck.
It's been repeated over and over in the reviews: if this were Klosterman's first book either it would not have gotten published, or his career would be over before it began.
It's been repeated over and over in the reviews: if this were Klosterman's first book either it would not have gotten published, or his career would be over before it began.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2024
I have to give this book a 5 because I simply couldn't put the book down. Chuck Klosterman was a journalist if you didn't know that already but this is a work of fiction. A brilliant work of fiction because I am a huge fan of the quite chaos/small town quirky theme.
He delivers hilarious yet brutally depressing perspective from a multitude of characters and the way he writes made it feel as if I was part of this small rural town. Each character was incredibly unique, real, funny, sad, you name the emotion and he brought it out magnificently.
I am a sucker for books with unpredictable endings and the ending to this one left me flabbergasted. I won't give any detail because it would be an absolute crime to give away an ending like this. I look forward to the movie or show or whatever they are making of it but I am beyond elated that I had the pleasure of reading this one.
He delivers hilarious yet brutally depressing perspective from a multitude of characters and the way he writes made it feel as if I was part of this small rural town. Each character was incredibly unique, real, funny, sad, you name the emotion and he brought it out magnificently.
I am a sucker for books with unpredictable endings and the ending to this one left me flabbergasted. I won't give any detail because it would be an absolute crime to give away an ending like this. I look forward to the movie or show or whatever they are making of it but I am beyond elated that I had the pleasure of reading this one.
October 7, 2010
I was really enjoying this book up to the last 3rd. I grew up in a small town in SD and the story resonated with me. We had teachers fired for sleeping with students, locals who went for coffee every morning to shake dice, and we all knew each other's business. I've read most of Klosterman's other books and I'm used to his writing style so I could get past the awkward writing (in fact I recommended it to my Mom when she called while shaking dice at the restaurant in my hometown). Unfortunately, the whole narrative fell flat at the end. It was as if he decided he'd hit a point where it was a good time to quit writing and tried to come up with an ending that connected all the main characters. Instead, the ending felt forced and destroyed the momentum he had going.
May 17, 2011
The ending to this novel reeks of "aren't I clever, using a deus ex machina ironically?" vibe, but of course, it totally doesn't work and results in a disappointing experience for this reader. While I like Klosterman's prose style and witty asides, he sets up multiple threads that are never tied up or resolved in any real way, save for one of the main characters. Klosterman does the "slice of life" stuff pretty well, and I give him credit for that, but it's like he almost couldn't be bothered to come up with a compelling narrative for his characters, so instead of any sort of satisfying conclusion, he just kills a bunch of characters in a freak, sudden snowstorm. Maybe I didn't "get it," but it just felt lazy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2011
It's a testament to Chuck Klosterman that he can write a 250 page novel where, essentially, nothing happens for the first 220 pages and yet I'm still hooked.
I think it works because it's so wholly something that I've never seen before. Who would think to write a book where no noticeable events happen for 90 percent of it? That isn't to say that characters don't undergo tremendous personal growth, but much of the novel is spent focusing on characters sitting or driving or drinking.
It's exactly what I was hoping for in a Klosterman novel. It so closely resembles his non-fiction work because of the level of realism he creates. Everything seems plausible and everything seems reasonable.
I think it works because it's so wholly something that I've never seen before. Who would think to write a book where no noticeable events happen for 90 percent of it? That isn't to say that characters don't undergo tremendous personal growth, but much of the novel is spent focusing on characters sitting or driving or drinking.
It's exactly what I was hoping for in a Klosterman novel. It so closely resembles his non-fiction work because of the level of realism he creates. Everything seems plausible and everything seems reasonable.
January 1, 2012
This is the interwoven story of three people living in Owl, North Dakota. Owl is a tiny town out on the great plains a three hour drive from Fargo, and the book is set in 1983-1984. Julia is a new social studies teacher at Owl High School. Mitch is a typical high school kid, mainly interested in girls and sports. Horace is an older farmer, whose wife died several years before. The entire book leads up to a blizzard which occurs right at the end, with white-out conditions, howling winds and frigid temperatures. All three of the main characters are stuck out in the weather and deal with it in their own way.
The narration was by three main actors, plus a couple more for some of the minor characters. It was very lively, especially Horace.
The narration was by three main actors, plus a couple more for some of the minor characters. It was very lively, especially Horace.
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