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Now Is the Hour
The year is 1967, and Rigby John Klusener, seventeen years old and finally leaving his home and family in Pocatello, Idaho, is on the highway with his thumb out and a flower behind his ear, headed for San Francisco. Now Is the Hour is the wondrous story of how Rigby John got to this point. It traces his gradual emancipation from the repressions of a strictly religious farming family and from the small-minded, bigoted community in which he has grown up during a time of explosive cultural change. Transforming this familiar journey from American Graffiti to On the Road into something rich and strange and hilarious is the persona of Rigby John himself. Intimately in touch with his fears, hesitantly awakening to his own sexuality, and palpably open to life's mysteries, Rigby John is a protagonist whom readers will fall in love with, root for, and be moved by.
Now Is the Hour is a powerful, vastly entertaining story of self-awakening, of the complex bonds of family, and ultimately of America during a period of tremendous upheaval.
Now Is the Hour is a powerful, vastly entertaining story of self-awakening, of the complex bonds of family, and ultimately of America during a period of tremendous upheaval.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
39 people are currently reading
1440 people want to read
About the author
Tom Spanbauer
12 books476 followersTom Spanbauer was an American writer whose work often explored issues of sexuality, race, and the ties that bind disparate people together. Raised in Idaho, Spanbauer lived in Kenya and across the United States. He later lived in Portland, Oregon, where he taught a course titled "dangerous writing". He graduated in 1988 from Columbia University with an MFA in Fiction and has written five novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
September 29, 2024
Original review August 31, 2009:
I'm not going to lie, this book took a solid 100 pages to really get into. But once I was in, I was IN. All the way. I cried to have to turn the last page. It's like a cross between Steinbeck and Kerouac with some SE Hinton thrown in for good measure, a YA version of _East of Eden_.
The setting (rural Idaho in the late 1960s) seemed pitch-perfect, the character was believable and engaging (once we got over our initial hump), and the emotional development was well done. I'm always a sucker for a Bildungsroman. Rigby's relationships are the heart of the book: with Billie, with George, with his mother. The ending is a little to "happily ever after" for real life, but by then I loved the characters so much that I would have been heartbroken had it turned out any other way.
A book well worth the effort, I think. (Unless you take issue with male genitalia. C*ck and balls are two essential and oft-described supporting characters.)
_________________________________________________
Reread review August 1 2011:
I didn’t remember all the details of the story, but I did remember very clearly how emotionally invested I was. So when I set out to reread Now is the Hour I was disappointed…at first. I remember crying over the ending the first time around and yet couldn’t seem to relate to any of the characters. Until.
Until George Serano makes his “real” appearance in the book, technically his third appearance when he comes to work the farm. What I realize now is not that I loved the book, though it was well stylized and coherently written, that I loved so much as the relationship between Rigby and George. I love Rigby and George. And Grannie Queep. The last 100 pages of the book are far and away the best part. From now on, when I might just stick to rereading those last pages when I get a hankering for complicated relationships.
I'm not going to lie, this book took a solid 100 pages to really get into. But once I was in, I was IN. All the way. I cried to have to turn the last page. It's like a cross between Steinbeck and Kerouac with some SE Hinton thrown in for good measure, a YA version of _East of Eden_.
The setting (rural Idaho in the late 1960s) seemed pitch-perfect, the character was believable and engaging (once we got over our initial hump), and the emotional development was well done. I'm always a sucker for a Bildungsroman. Rigby's relationships are the heart of the book: with Billie, with George, with his mother. The ending is a little to "happily ever after" for real life, but by then I loved the characters so much that I would have been heartbroken had it turned out any other way.
A book well worth the effort, I think. (Unless you take issue with male genitalia. C*ck and balls are two essential and oft-described supporting characters.)
_________________________________________________
Reread review August 1 2011:
I didn’t remember all the details of the story, but I did remember very clearly how emotionally invested I was. So when I set out to reread Now is the Hour I was disappointed…at first. I remember crying over the ending the first time around and yet couldn’t seem to relate to any of the characters. Until.
Until George Serano makes his “real” appearance in the book, technically his third appearance when he comes to work the farm. What I realize now is not that I loved the book, though it was well stylized and coherently written, that I loved so much as the relationship between Rigby and George. I love Rigby and George. And Grannie Queep. The last 100 pages of the book are far and away the best part. From now on, when I might just stick to rereading those last pages when I get a hankering for complicated relationships.
September 18, 2020
Cuando terminé de leer "El hombre que se enamoró de la Luna" traté de ser justo conmigo mismo y le puse cuatro estrellas. El único motivo por el que no entró en el selecto grupo de las cinco se debía exclusivamente a que los toques de realismo mágico de la obra, si bien hermosos, la convirtieron en una lectura algo confusa. O al menos así lo recuerdo
Con "Ahora es el momento", Spanbauer me regala exactamente lo que no encontré en el anterior libro. Despojado de tanta simbología y tanta alucinación psicodélica, el autor se muestra como el magistral narrador que es, capaz de hacer hermoso lo feo, lo sucio, lo degenerado, e incluso lo que es todo eso a la vez. No hay un pero que le pueda poner a esta novela, han sido cinco estrellas brillando rutilantes tras la tinta de las letras desde la primera página hasta la última, tan redonda que ni siquiera echaré de menos a Rigby John Klusener y demás personajes: han cumplido con lo que debían, y ni una línea más es necesaria.
"Ahora es el momento" es un coming of age más, cierto. La escritura peligrosa de Spanbauer no es para todos los gustos, ¿cuál lo es? Sí, puede resultar reiterativa, divagante, algo sobrecargada de descripciones... No importa. Si te dejas llevar por la hermosa historia de amor -que es lo que es, en última instancia, este libro- y su grito de libertad, me cuesta creer que alguien se arrepienta de haber iniciado el viaje.
"Cuando el blanco y negro pasa a color. He estado toda mi vida buscando ese momento. Cuando una gran ráfaga de viento de Idaho se convierte en el Pájaro del Trueno y todo lo corriente se desmorona. En un instante estás en la mirada de otro, y, por cualquier motivo, el universo, el destino o pura suerte, de pronto todo se vuelve totalmente nítido, es magia, un alma toca a otra y existe el amor."
Con "Ahora es el momento", Spanbauer me regala exactamente lo que no encontré en el anterior libro. Despojado de tanta simbología y tanta alucinación psicodélica, el autor se muestra como el magistral narrador que es, capaz de hacer hermoso lo feo, lo sucio, lo degenerado, e incluso lo que es todo eso a la vez. No hay un pero que le pueda poner a esta novela, han sido cinco estrellas brillando rutilantes tras la tinta de las letras desde la primera página hasta la última, tan redonda que ni siquiera echaré de menos a Rigby John Klusener y demás personajes: han cumplido con lo que debían, y ni una línea más es necesaria.
"Ahora es el momento" es un coming of age más, cierto. La escritura peligrosa de Spanbauer no es para todos los gustos, ¿cuál lo es? Sí, puede resultar reiterativa, divagante, algo sobrecargada de descripciones... No importa. Si te dejas llevar por la hermosa historia de amor -que es lo que es, en última instancia, este libro- y su grito de libertad, me cuesta creer que alguien se arrepienta de haber iniciado el viaje.
"Cuando el blanco y negro pasa a color. He estado toda mi vida buscando ese momento. Cuando una gran ráfaga de viento de Idaho se convierte en el Pájaro del Trueno y todo lo corriente se desmorona. En un instante estás en la mirada de otro, y, por cualquier motivo, el universo, el destino o pura suerte, de pronto todo se vuelve totalmente nítido, es magia, un alma toca a otra y existe el amor."
August 31, 2015
"Different"- dirían los Klusener, huir del aparente calor de hogar, de lo que te inculcan de pequeño y te ciega y durante la huida topar con muros insalvables. Ahora es el momento de doblegar nuestro miedo, ahora es el momento de respirar. Un Bildungsroman que empieza en aguas apacibles, las de la inocenccia de la infancia y que se vuelve tumultuoso por la propia exposición a la vida. La del protagonista, la de todos.
Supongo que lo desarrollaré más en el blog, llevo un rato dándole vueltas al porqué del vuelco que me produce cada libro de Spanbauer, se me ocurren mil comparaciones que se contradicen, llego al "casi" pero nunca al "todo" y en el fondo prefiero que sea así.
He de admitir que esta lectura me ha arrancado un trozo de mí mismo y me lo ha devuelto en forma de recuerdos y sensaciones, el estilo extremadamente sensorial ha conseguido que pueda tocar el producto resultante con las manos y aquí estoy, acariciando mis propios recuerdos al son de Billie Holiday mientras hojeo un libro de poemas de e.e.cummings... fumando, rezando y esperando a la luz tenue de una lámpara que refleja en la pared una sombra cabizbaja, "se puede saber el estado de un hombre a través de su sombra"
Supongo que lo desarrollaré más en el blog, llevo un rato dándole vueltas al porqué del vuelco que me produce cada libro de Spanbauer, se me ocurren mil comparaciones que se contradicen, llego al "casi" pero nunca al "todo" y en el fondo prefiero que sea así.
He de admitir que esta lectura me ha arrancado un trozo de mí mismo y me lo ha devuelto en forma de recuerdos y sensaciones, el estilo extremadamente sensorial ha conseguido que pueda tocar el producto resultante con las manos y aquí estoy, acariciando mis propios recuerdos al son de Billie Holiday mientras hojeo un libro de poemas de e.e.cummings... fumando, rezando y esperando a la luz tenue de una lámpara que refleja en la pared una sombra cabizbaja, "se puede saber el estado de un hombre a través de su sombra"
November 30, 2023
Si vas a San Francisco, asegúrate de llevar flores en el pelo💛🌼
December 23, 2014
“Agora ou Nunca”, de Tom Spanbauer é um livro que me veio parar ás mãos por mero acaso. Comprei-o por 5 euros numa Feira do Livro, sem quaisquer referências anteriores sobre o livro ou sobre o autor, que aliás desconhecia. Apenas li a contracapa e pareceu-me interessante.
Apenas há pouco tempo e em conversa com um dos amigos com quem converso sobre livros ele me referiu que tinha sido este livro um dos melhores que ele já tinga lido.
E agora que o li não só o confirmo, como estou pasmado pela pouca divulgação do livro e do autor.
Trata-se da história de um jovem americano de 17 anos, originário de uma família muito tradicional e religiosa do Idaho, que se vai descobrindo a si mesmo, e o faz de uma maneira admirável e junto a outros personagens muito bem delineados, quase todos eles pertencendo a um mundo diferente do seu e que lhe vão abrindo os olhos.
O livro vai num crescendo de interesse, a culminar no capítulo final e é galvanizante.
Apenas há pouco tempo e em conversa com um dos amigos com quem converso sobre livros ele me referiu que tinha sido este livro um dos melhores que ele já tinga lido.
E agora que o li não só o confirmo, como estou pasmado pela pouca divulgação do livro e do autor.
Trata-se da história de um jovem americano de 17 anos, originário de uma família muito tradicional e religiosa do Idaho, que se vai descobrindo a si mesmo, e o faz de uma maneira admirável e junto a outros personagens muito bem delineados, quase todos eles pertencendo a um mundo diferente do seu e que lhe vão abrindo os olhos.
O livro vai num crescendo de interesse, a culminar no capítulo final e é galvanizante.
April 24, 2008
Hace no mucho, en cierta conversación, confesaba que sí, que la mayor parte de productos culturales que me han producido un inefable vacío en el estómago tienen la peculiaridad de estar protagonizados por homosexuales. Al fin y al cabo, no podemos dejar las emociones en la mesita de noche cuando nos enfrentamos a determinadas historias... Esto es lo que me ha ocurrido precisamente con el libro de Tom Spanbauer. Pero, ¡ojo!, que un libro te toque de forma tan directa no significa que anule tu capacidad crítica. Y en casos como el de Ahora es el momento, es inevitable acabar con la sensación que la calidad emocional y la calidad literaria se han dado la mano.
Resulta que Tom Spanbauer es el "maestro" de Chuck Pahlaniuk. Y eso, teniendo en cuenta que acabé por encallarme en el estilo repetitivo del autor de Fight Club, podría no ser del todo positivo. Así que, antes de abordar Ahora es el momento, intenté informarme sobre la llamada "dangerous writing": la escuela de Spanbauer enseña que hay que escribir sobre lo que nos avergüenza. Por ahí vamos bien. Pero también enseña que los personajes deben ir definidos por un conjunto de frases o conceptos recurrentes que se repetirán con frecuencia. Y eso es precisamente lo que me irrita, al fin y al cabo, del peor Pahlaniuk. Ahora bien, llegados a este punto es dónde se nota quién es el maestro y quién es el alumno, porque la pericia de Spanbauer reside en que sabe aplicar esta regla sin resultar simplista, ni repetitivo, ni efectista. Más bien todo lo contrario.
Ahora es el momento es un libro autobiográfico, aunque Spanbauer no practica el género como algo autocomplacitente. La visión de su juventud es, más bien, visceral e incómoda. La historia se estructura como un puzzle al que te ves arrojado de forma violenta: en el primer capítulo se plantean todos los recuerdos de juventud en forma de vómito narrativo, de forma que estos sucesos desconocidos se quedan en tu cabeza hasta que, en el resto del argumento, poco a poco, se van desarrollando de forma natural y cronológica. La historia de Rigby John Kluesener está narrada con una transparencia desarmante: la voz narrativa, absolutamente genial, se pone al nivel del joven que, supuestamente, está explicando sus recuerdos más recientes. La palabra "difrente", así, mal escrita, por ejemplo, adquiere una importancia vital desde el principio de la trama: Rigby John reacciona con aversión al hecho de que sus padres utilicen esta palabra de forma incorrecta, sin ver (o sin querer ver), que es una palabra que jugará mucha importancia en su propia vida.
En conclusión, Ahora es el momento narra eso que tantas veces hemos leído: el proceso de crecimiento de un niño que pasa a ser adolescente y ha de enfrentarse a ciertas decisiones y definiciones. En esta ocasión, sin embargo, habrá un componente añadido de lucha contra convenciones sociales y religiosas de la america profunda muy cercano a La Biblia de Neon (J.K. Toole). Spanbauer, sin embargo, en vez de optar por el autismo narrativo, se pone al nivel de los ojos de su protagonista (de él mismo, al fin y al cabo) y firma uno de esos libros que se te quedan dentro para siempre.
Resulta que Tom Spanbauer es el "maestro" de Chuck Pahlaniuk. Y eso, teniendo en cuenta que acabé por encallarme en el estilo repetitivo del autor de Fight Club, podría no ser del todo positivo. Así que, antes de abordar Ahora es el momento, intenté informarme sobre la llamada "dangerous writing": la escuela de Spanbauer enseña que hay que escribir sobre lo que nos avergüenza. Por ahí vamos bien. Pero también enseña que los personajes deben ir definidos por un conjunto de frases o conceptos recurrentes que se repetirán con frecuencia. Y eso es precisamente lo que me irrita, al fin y al cabo, del peor Pahlaniuk. Ahora bien, llegados a este punto es dónde se nota quién es el maestro y quién es el alumno, porque la pericia de Spanbauer reside en que sabe aplicar esta regla sin resultar simplista, ni repetitivo, ni efectista. Más bien todo lo contrario.
Ahora es el momento es un libro autobiográfico, aunque Spanbauer no practica el género como algo autocomplacitente. La visión de su juventud es, más bien, visceral e incómoda. La historia se estructura como un puzzle al que te ves arrojado de forma violenta: en el primer capítulo se plantean todos los recuerdos de juventud en forma de vómito narrativo, de forma que estos sucesos desconocidos se quedan en tu cabeza hasta que, en el resto del argumento, poco a poco, se van desarrollando de forma natural y cronológica. La historia de Rigby John Kluesener está narrada con una transparencia desarmante: la voz narrativa, absolutamente genial, se pone al nivel del joven que, supuestamente, está explicando sus recuerdos más recientes. La palabra "difrente", así, mal escrita, por ejemplo, adquiere una importancia vital desde el principio de la trama: Rigby John reacciona con aversión al hecho de que sus padres utilicen esta palabra de forma incorrecta, sin ver (o sin querer ver), que es una palabra que jugará mucha importancia en su propia vida.
En conclusión, Ahora es el momento narra eso que tantas veces hemos leído: el proceso de crecimiento de un niño que pasa a ser adolescente y ha de enfrentarse a ciertas decisiones y definiciones. En esta ocasión, sin embargo, habrá un componente añadido de lucha contra convenciones sociales y religiosas de la america profunda muy cercano a La Biblia de Neon (J.K. Toole). Spanbauer, sin embargo, en vez de optar por el autismo narrativo, se pone al nivel de los ojos de su protagonista (de él mismo, al fin y al cabo) y firma uno de esos libros que se te quedan dentro para siempre.
October 17, 2015
Redactas una historia más de coming of age (o bildungsroman para los culturosos) porque total, ocho millones de historias de coming of age no son ya demasiadas.
Escribes a base de frases cortas porque no quieres que el lector se canse
Repites sin parar un puñado de diez o doce coletillas porque tampoco tú quieres cansarte a inventar.
Tu personaje principal tiene tanta personalidad como una coliflor
Inundas el libro de pasajes superfluos, por puro amor al relleno. La mitad, por descontado, son descripciones de cosas que no importan como el color de la ropa o cómo va peinada la gente o notificar cada uno de los cigarrillos fumados por los personajes.
Cuelas un puñado de referencias literarias o musicales de gratis sólo para decorar: se podrían eliminar y eso no cambiaría nada. Pero así queda más chachi. E incluso consigues que cierto tipo de lector se sienta más culto.
Te obsesionas con las tetas más que el propio Russ Meyer y cada vez que aparece tu personaje femenino principal remarcas cien veces que tiene unas berzas como camiones. Y eso que el narrador narrado es homosexual.
Y aún y así, después de todo eso, todavía consigues el aplauso de lectores mayores de 19 años. Ostia puta. Ovación cerrada. Vítores enloquecidos para míster Spanbauer, vendedor de humo del mes.
No sé en otras novelas suyas (puede que incluso estén bien, quién sabe), pero en ésta tendrían que pegar en la portada una gran etiqueta advirtiendo bien claro que es literatura para adolescentes. O para gente que lee muy poco. Venga, que no pare, qué es lo siguiente? Cuadros para ciegos. Música para sordos. Comida para perros muertos. Cine XXX para toda la familia. Porqué no, ya puestos.
July 5, 2016
Tom Spanbauer ha sido mi descubrimiento del año. Así, tal cual. Fan absoluta de Chuck Palahniuk (aunque tengo que reconocer que a partir de Condenada ha empezado a aburrirme un poco), he intentado varias veces leer a sus maestros. Y digo intentado, porque no he podido con ellos. Me faltaba darle una oportunidad a Spanbauer, pero las malas experiencias previas y que la sinopsis no me llamaba mucho, hicieron que este libro se mantuviese en mi montón de pendientes durante bastante tiempo. Hasta hace unos días.
Ahora es el momento es una novela que ha conseguido impactarme como hacía mucho que no lo hacía un libro. Y no solo por la historia, sino también por la forma que tiene Spanbauer de contártela.
Rigby John Klusener tiene diecisiete años y acaba de escaparse de casa de sus padres. Estamos en 1967 en Pocatello, Idaho, una comunidad ultrarreligiosa, racista y homófoba, automarginada de la explosión cultural que está teniendo lugar en Estados Unidos en esa década. Rigby John sabe que es diferente y también, como bien dice él mismo, que el universo conspira para joderle.
Nacido en el seno de una familia de granjeros ultrarreligiosa, con un padre amargado y una madre infeliz obsesionada con rezar el rosario, Rig irá descubriendo, poco a poco, que su lugar en el mundo está lejos de allí. Con una ironía cargada de ingenuidad nos irá contando cómo ha (...)
LA RESEÑA SIGUE AQUÍ: https://elbuscalibros.com/ahora-es-el...
Ahora es el momento es una novela que ha conseguido impactarme como hacía mucho que no lo hacía un libro. Y no solo por la historia, sino también por la forma que tiene Spanbauer de contártela.
Rigby John Klusener tiene diecisiete años y acaba de escaparse de casa de sus padres. Estamos en 1967 en Pocatello, Idaho, una comunidad ultrarreligiosa, racista y homófoba, automarginada de la explosión cultural que está teniendo lugar en Estados Unidos en esa década. Rigby John sabe que es diferente y también, como bien dice él mismo, que el universo conspira para joderle.
Nacido en el seno de una familia de granjeros ultrarreligiosa, con un padre amargado y una madre infeliz obsesionada con rezar el rosario, Rig irá descubriendo, poco a poco, que su lugar en el mundo está lejos de allí. Con una ironía cargada de ingenuidad nos irá contando cómo ha (...)
LA RESEÑA SIGUE AQUÍ: https://elbuscalibros.com/ahora-es-el...
April 14, 2013
Esta novela es una oda a la huida. Al hecho de perderse lejos de donde uno puede ser fácilmente encontrado. Un absoluto festival literario en el que el chico que huye nos cuenta en primera persona todo aquello que lo está empujando hacia direcciones desconocidas. Empujones violentos procedentes de brazos fornidos, corazones rotos y plegarias desatendidas. Un combo de aciertos y fracasos que lanzarían a cualquiera lejos de la palabra hogar.
Spanbauer vuelve a hacerlo. Muchos años después de aquel El hombre que se enamoró de la luna llega Rigby John Klusener a contarnos cómo sucede el milagro de encontrarse a uno mismo en el contexto más inesperado. El secreto para tener la valentía de devolver la mirada al espejo que nos refleja.
- Sexualidad
- Religión
- Magia
- Fardos de heno
- Queso
- Embarazos
- Tumbas
- Cuerpos expuestos
Con esta lista de la compra, cualquiera podría llevar al fracaso la mejor de las intenciones. Spanbauer da el Do de Pecho. Tira los artificios y lo que queda es la voz que nos constata una y otra vez:
Hoy es un flamante día ¡No dejes de andar!
June 21, 2016
this book dug my grave then killed me & put me in it
August 3, 2017
Rigby John endures a lot on his family's Idaho farm: his mother's mood swings and Catholic obsessions, his father's stoic silences and anger, and the exhausting repetition of labors, occasionally broken by emerging '60s pop songs. His self-questioning nature, though, helps him find escape, with his 'girlfriend' Billie, and his budding sexuality blossoms with the help of a few farmhands who change his life.
Spanbauer employs poetic repetition like mantras; cigarettes, dinners, hay-stacking and driving all take on an almost spiritual aspect. Several things happen with dramatic and violent results, but the tone of the book is woven into explaining why he's hitchhiking to San Francisco to escape all the pain of rural life. Because he's 'differnt.'
I didn't care for the artistic decision to not use quotation marks for dialogue, but I endured it for the overall beauty of the prose and compelling story.
Spanbauer employs poetic repetition like mantras; cigarettes, dinners, hay-stacking and driving all take on an almost spiritual aspect. Several things happen with dramatic and violent results, but the tone of the book is woven into explaining why he's hitchhiking to San Francisco to escape all the pain of rural life. Because he's 'differnt.'
I didn't care for the artistic decision to not use quotation marks for dialogue, but I endured it for the overall beauty of the prose and compelling story.
October 20, 2019
Mixed reactions here — giving it 3 stars but also stopped reading it with about 200 pages to go! The book is described as a teenager on his way to San Francisco but he never does get there. He is on the road, thinking back to the events of the last couple years. In that respect it it a coming out novel — well, okay, but 500 pages of that? I wanted to see more progress in the character, more development in life experience. When he starts his first affair (still at home) with a man twice his age, a damaged man with substance abuse issues, my interest ground to a halt. And this memory kept nagging at me, having started this book back in the day, and being so bored when he starts his affair.
Perhaps a groundbreaking novel in its day, but since surpassed by any number of beautiful little honest YA books covering the same terrain. 2.5 stars with the caveat that I never got through it. 3 stars for first 300 pages.
Perhaps a groundbreaking novel in its day, but since surpassed by any number of beautiful little honest YA books covering the same terrain. 2.5 stars with the caveat that I never got through it. 3 stars for first 300 pages.
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July 28, 2015Honestly I have no coherent words or thoughts right now but I'm emotionally compromised and not okay in any way shape or form. I may write a proper review here later but for now I'm gonna try and cope with the emotional trauma I've just been through.
(Bert, I'm looking at you and blaming you for ever introducing me to Tom fucking Spanbauer).
(Bert, I'm looking at you and blaming you for ever introducing me to Tom fucking Spanbauer).
September 24, 2024
A coming-of-age story of a gay Catholic Idahoan in the 50s. Some of this is lovely. But sometimes other characters seem to be warped into strange shapes in order to prop up our hero's concept of himself.
January 17, 2017
Absolutely stunning, lyrical, literary masterpiece.
August 26, 2023
I usual love this sort of bildungsroman but this, the third Spanbauer novel I have read, left me feeling very disengaged - I adored The Man Who Fell In Love With the Moon and liked The City Of Shy Hunters, although less then enamoured of many of its stylistic quirks, particularly the poetic repetitions and stoner type pronouncements of supposed great profundity which unfortunately this novel uses in abundance. They proliferate throughout the book and eventually just pissed me off. - particularly as they are added as asides, as if from a character speaking outside the novel, not as narrator more as someone interrupting into a conversation they are not part of - as I say very annoying Also I couldn't help finding a similarity between the George Serano character in this novel and the Gilbert character in William Haywood Henderson's Native, though having only read excerpts from Henderson's novel I may eventually have to admit that this view is erroneous but in my heart of hearts I think I am not wrong.
I would by no means call it a bad novel, I am sure some people will love it, but I found that it wore its period detail in a heavy handed way and the substance of the story did not seem to justify the great length. Running off to San Francisco and becoming a hippy in the late 1960's was part of a significant paradigm shifting break between the generations in the USA. I am not insensitive to its romance, but although only 11 years old t the time the 60's ended and as enamoured of its stupid cliches and fashions as anyone else I still knew that 'tune in and drop out' and 'love and peace' etc. were hollow slogans concealing a great deal of selfishness. To portray youths dreams in 1968 doesn't mean accepting or propagandising them again. Maybe I am to old, to European, to just not the right person to properly appreciate this book, but in the end I found Rigby and his stupid hat just annoying and that neither he nor his Indian boyfrien were people I would want to spend much time with - even to get away from the god forsaken mid-western corn belt this novel set in.
I would by no means call it a bad novel, I am sure some people will love it, but I found that it wore its period detail in a heavy handed way and the substance of the story did not seem to justify the great length. Running off to San Francisco and becoming a hippy in the late 1960's was part of a significant paradigm shifting break between the generations in the USA. I am not insensitive to its romance, but although only 11 years old t the time the 60's ended and as enamoured of its stupid cliches and fashions as anyone else I still knew that 'tune in and drop out' and 'love and peace' etc. were hollow slogans concealing a great deal of selfishness. To portray youths dreams in 1968 doesn't mean accepting or propagandising them again. Maybe I am to old, to European, to just not the right person to properly appreciate this book, but in the end I found Rigby and his stupid hat just annoying and that neither he nor his Indian boyfrien were people I would want to spend much time with - even to get away from the god forsaken mid-western corn belt this novel set in.
July 14, 2008
Si hay algo que no perdono nunca a un libro es que me dé la sensación de que estoy perdiendo el tiempo. No soporto estar leyendo un libro y estar todo el rato pensando que podría estar leyendo otra cosa, algo que me llenara más, o si me apuráis algo que me diciera algo. Creo que su principal problema es que es demasiado largo y acaba siendo repetitivo. Hay páginas y páginas describiendo minuciosamente escenas y más escenas indestriables las unas de las otras que no aportan nada: ni hacen que la historia avance ni dan más profundidad a los personajes.
No es un libro malo, pero tampoco me ha parecido para nada memorable. La historia es la de un niño que crece en un pueblo rural perdido en medio de ninguna parte y en una familia ultra-católica. La novela se inicia cuando el protagonista tiene 17 años y ha decidido marcharse de casa, porque la única forma de ser él mismo que tiene es romper con su familia. A partir de ahí nos cuenta cómo ha llegado hasta allí, cómo la amistad lo cambió y le sirvió para conocerse mejor a él mismo, cómo descubrió que era homosexual y también que de hecho dos hombres podrían quererse, y finalmente también por supuesto cómo se enamoró. Sobre el papel no está mal, pero para mí la cosa se alarga y se alarga y se alarga y se alarga innecesariamente.
Me ha gustado más la primera parte, la infancia llena de soledad y palizas de los abusones, el ambiente ultra-católico en el que todo es pecado y rezar el rosario, la relación del protagonista con su madre y su distanciamiento a medida que él se va haciendo mayor. Y la mayor pega que he encontrado al libro es el estilo. Es tremendamente repetitivo y si al principio en teoría puede tener su gracia, las últimas 200 páginas se me hizo insoportablemente engorroso. En un libro más corto puede resultar, pero en uno tan largo repetir incansablemente las mismas imágenes y las mismas descripciones, palabra por palabra, es agotador, totalmente superfluo y altamente irritante.
No es un libro malo, pero tampoco me ha parecido para nada memorable. La historia es la de un niño que crece en un pueblo rural perdido en medio de ninguna parte y en una familia ultra-católica. La novela se inicia cuando el protagonista tiene 17 años y ha decidido marcharse de casa, porque la única forma de ser él mismo que tiene es romper con su familia. A partir de ahí nos cuenta cómo ha llegado hasta allí, cómo la amistad lo cambió y le sirvió para conocerse mejor a él mismo, cómo descubrió que era homosexual y también que de hecho dos hombres podrían quererse, y finalmente también por supuesto cómo se enamoró. Sobre el papel no está mal, pero para mí la cosa se alarga y se alarga y se alarga y se alarga innecesariamente.
Me ha gustado más la primera parte, la infancia llena de soledad y palizas de los abusones, el ambiente ultra-católico en el que todo es pecado y rezar el rosario, la relación del protagonista con su madre y su distanciamiento a medida que él se va haciendo mayor. Y la mayor pega que he encontrado al libro es el estilo. Es tremendamente repetitivo y si al principio en teoría puede tener su gracia, las últimas 200 páginas se me hizo insoportablemente engorroso. En un libro más corto puede resultar, pero en uno tan largo repetir incansablemente las mismas imágenes y las mismas descripciones, palabra por palabra, es agotador, totalmente superfluo y altamente irritante.
September 3, 2024
10/10
The best book I have read this year by a mile. I've enjoyed most of what I've read up until the first half of the year, but this book reminded me why I love literature as a medium for art and expression so much. I picked up this book as a random find at Philly AIDS Thrift, and LGBTQ+ friendly non-profit establishment whose proceeds support local AIDS organizations. With pride month underway, it felt like an appropriate time to dive into this book.
This story is about the life of Rigby John Kluesner. You are introduced to him at seventeen years old, running away from home and hitchhiking to California. From this point, Rigby John takes you back to his very birth and guides the reader through the following 17 years. After finishing this book, I felt like I had truly experienced a whole other life. Rigby John's narration is possibly the best voice I have ever read in a book. He is so dimensional and human. His quirks of speech and the way he views the world are so completely original and organic. It was hard to remember I wasn't simply conversing with a friend, but reading a perfectly written character.
This book is a perfect combination of comedy, drama, tragedy, and romance. I don't know the last time I laughed out loud so many times in a single read. I also cried a lot during this read. This genre of A-Young-Man-Learning-About-Life is one of my favorites and this book absolutely joins my personal parthenon of these stories such as Catcher in the Rye, Maniac McGee, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Catch-22.
Now Is the Hour is truly so special to me and I cannot wait to read it again and again for the rest of my life.
The best book I have read this year by a mile. I've enjoyed most of what I've read up until the first half of the year, but this book reminded me why I love literature as a medium for art and expression so much. I picked up this book as a random find at Philly AIDS Thrift, and LGBTQ+ friendly non-profit establishment whose proceeds support local AIDS organizations. With pride month underway, it felt like an appropriate time to dive into this book.
This story is about the life of Rigby John Kluesner. You are introduced to him at seventeen years old, running away from home and hitchhiking to California. From this point, Rigby John takes you back to his very birth and guides the reader through the following 17 years. After finishing this book, I felt like I had truly experienced a whole other life. Rigby John's narration is possibly the best voice I have ever read in a book. He is so dimensional and human. His quirks of speech and the way he views the world are so completely original and organic. It was hard to remember I wasn't simply conversing with a friend, but reading a perfectly written character.
This book is a perfect combination of comedy, drama, tragedy, and romance. I don't know the last time I laughed out loud so many times in a single read. I also cried a lot during this read. This genre of A-Young-Man-Learning-About-Life is one of my favorites and this book absolutely joins my personal parthenon of these stories such as Catcher in the Rye, Maniac McGee, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Catch-22.
Now Is the Hour is truly so special to me and I cannot wait to read it again and again for the rest of my life.
August 29, 2016
I love Tom Spanbauer. I love his writing, the poetry of his voice, the pace and unfolding of his craft. I read this book slowly because I knew from the first pages that I'd be tempted to speed through it only to find myself saddened by its completion. But today, finally, after months of withholding and rationing, I closed the book, took a deep breath and let it sink in. This is a book that is close to my heart. It's a story of self-discovery in Pocatello, Idaho, my hometown. Much of it takes place in locations I am intimately familiar with. Despite my knowledge of the town and the people and the way of life in that small corner of the world, it is accessible to everyone. It's about growth and struggle, magic, poetry and above all else, love. Spanbauer's voice, written as his protagonist, Rigby John Kluesner, is poetic and straightforward, beautiful and elegant. His description of Idaho and its people is remarkably accurate and painfully truthful. This is a story of hope and salvation against all odds. A true coming of age tale that should not be missed. If you enjoyed THE MAN WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE MOON, NOW IS THE HOUR will take you to new heights. Do not turn your back on this book.
November 12, 2022
I have read all of Tom Spanbauer's books and this was my last to finish (I'm sad that I don't have more to devour). There's an honesty in Spanbauer's writing that stays with you long after you finish his books. 'Now is the hour,' was like his other books: a man exploring his sexuality, roots founded in Idaho and western religion, a drawn-out build-up of characters that promise a smooth finish, and a profound look at love and loss.
Compared to his other novels, this book has the cleanest and simple portrayal of characters and of Spanbauer's message of love transcending societal norms. Rig's first lover tells him directly before they embrace, "Half of me wants to devour you. The other half wants to run and hide. But I don't do either." Despite the complications of gender, age, religious and family norms, and ethnicity, a 17yr old's passion, and heartache are simply 'scintillatingly' gorgeous.
I look forward to his next book.
Compared to his other novels, this book has the cleanest and simple portrayal of characters and of Spanbauer's message of love transcending societal norms. Rig's first lover tells him directly before they embrace, "Half of me wants to devour you. The other half wants to run and hide. But I don't do either." Despite the complications of gender, age, religious and family norms, and ethnicity, a 17yr old's passion, and heartache are simply 'scintillatingly' gorgeous.
I look forward to his next book.
January 3, 2010
I am always impressed with how frank Tom Spanbauer is in his writing. He doesn't cut the corners when it comes to all the things those rigid Victorians pretended didn't exist about the human body--bowel movements, burps, sex and sweat. I find it really refreshing how wiling he is to build in all these human things into his books. (If you don't like reading about those things, then don't read this book.)
Spanbaeur created some key phrases that were repeated in the story, like a chorus for a song. I found it charming and understood the lyricism of it, but ... I also found myself skipping these repeated phrases and paragraphs. You can breeze through the story much more quickly that way.
Over all, solid work, Tom!
Spanbaeur created some key phrases that were repeated in the story, like a chorus for a song. I found it charming and understood the lyricism of it, but ... I also found myself skipping these repeated phrases and paragraphs. You can breeze through the story much more quickly that way.
Over all, solid work, Tom!
April 9, 2009
The way Spanbauer writes is almost lyrical, beautiful. His story immediately drew me in from "Parmesan cheese" to the end (he started with Parmesan cheese, what can I say?). It was kind of the classic coming of age, questioning everything type of story, but the unique writing style and narrator's honesty made me glide along with anticipation. I'm not great with the reviews, but I will say that I felt this calm after I finished reading Now Is the Hour and I wanted to meet Rigby John (the main character) as an older man to find out what happened in the next chapter of his life.
May 25, 2008
I remember I kept complaining about this book while I was reading it but now I don't remember what the problem was. Something about the prose being... cheesy? Repetitive? Predictable? What was it? But now I only have good memories of the book: it totally swept me up and I wanted to read it all the time. That is what I want in a novel. Also, it was hella gay, which is always a plus. I think it probably made me cry.
July 22, 2019
I love this book so much. I bought it on a whim at a used bookstore as a teenager and have been calling it my favorite ever since. I just finished rereading it for the first time in years, and got even more out of it than I remembered. It’s so beautiful and I just love it so much! Complex and heartbreaking and lovely!
January 11, 2015
One of the loveliest books that I unexpectedly picked up in my bookshop from the "suggested reading" lists. I highly suggest this coming of age story to everyone. It's unexpected and subtle, and yet it hits you like a ton of bricks.
July 11, 2022
It could/should have been a 20 page short story. But no!! Let’s drag this for 400 repetitive endless pages
June 2, 2018
Looking back, its amazing how clear things can get.
Something else I can see clearly now. That day when I went looking for something believing I was going to find it and did. Nobody taught me that. And its got nothing to do with smart. Smart doesn't get you beyond fear, doesn't set you free.
Looking for something you know you're going to find. Ever since that day in the cloakroom, I've been doing that. I mean when the fear didn't get in the way. The secret is to not let the fear get in the way. p4
Bless us, O fucking Lord, and these Thy fucking gifts, which we are about to fucking receive from Thy fucking bounty through Christ our fucking Lord.
A-fucking-men!
Fuck.
p16
There were a bunch of things that happened that changed my mind, thank God. First, really, it was the books. How could I go to Spain and fight the bulls if I was a priest? And falling in love. Falling in love certainly was something I'd never do, but it sounded like just the best thing that could happen. Priests couldn't fall in love except with God. Still, though, the thought of reading and writing books all day and walking around in long skirts and drinking wine and smoking and talking philosophy while you worked in a garden sounded like an ideal life. p83
Believe me, here's something I've learned so far in my seventeen years: you got to make a choice early on in if you want to live in this world or the one that comes after this world.
The way I figure it, we know we got this world, so lie in this one while you're here. I figure the next one will take care of itself. p85
The strobe of bright and dark, bright and dark, all around me in my ears the sound of the earth falling apart.
At first, I couldn't figure out why I wasn't scared. Then I knew. I wasn't scared because someone else was more scared. And as soon as I saw there was someone more scared- it was so weird- in the moment I began to accept my own fear, and by accepting my fear I began to deal with it. p169
Weird, deep sobs in me the way you throw up. My face was down in the grass, I was eating grass, digging down, trying to get to dirt. How can we carry pain around like that and not know it?
p192
That moment, the way George looked at me, my arms, my chest and belly, my neck, my nipples, my naked skin, was my first time ever. All those years doing what I was not really doing, whacking off and breaking the sixth commandment- getting off only on my body and getting off- all of it always internal, isolated, in my head. An imagination of sex that went on within that had nothing to do with the world.
That day, though, when George's black eyes landed on my flesh, it was the first time ever sex was outside. Sex was what I saw in George's eyes. p271
The wind in the willow tree was Thunderbird. All around our ears, breath through the willows, a sound like the tree knew everything about George and me and, like us, didn't know what the fuck, so all afternoon, all it did was sigh and sigh. p283
Like to drive you nuts. Sweltering summer. Hot days, hot nights. Still no sleep, or not much. No whacking off, still. Tension in my muscles like a wild animal ready to spring. Something in my belly, too. Whenever I took a dump, it was shit spray. Then mom asked me again if anything was wrong. I said no. But I looked my eyes away as fast as I could because Billie Cody might have been psychic, but my mother was the grandmother of all psychics. At least with anything that had to do with me. p292
He looks so much like George,
something about the smell of his dad/George.
Something else I can see clearly now. That day when I went looking for something believing I was going to find it and did. Nobody taught me that. And its got nothing to do with smart. Smart doesn't get you beyond fear, doesn't set you free.
Looking for something you know you're going to find. Ever since that day in the cloakroom, I've been doing that. I mean when the fear didn't get in the way. The secret is to not let the fear get in the way. p4
Bless us, O fucking Lord, and these Thy fucking gifts, which we are about to fucking receive from Thy fucking bounty through Christ our fucking Lord.
A-fucking-men!
Fuck.
p16
There were a bunch of things that happened that changed my mind, thank God. First, really, it was the books. How could I go to Spain and fight the bulls if I was a priest? And falling in love. Falling in love certainly was something I'd never do, but it sounded like just the best thing that could happen. Priests couldn't fall in love except with God. Still, though, the thought of reading and writing books all day and walking around in long skirts and drinking wine and smoking and talking philosophy while you worked in a garden sounded like an ideal life. p83
Believe me, here's something I've learned so far in my seventeen years: you got to make a choice early on in if you want to live in this world or the one that comes after this world.
The way I figure it, we know we got this world, so lie in this one while you're here. I figure the next one will take care of itself. p85
The strobe of bright and dark, bright and dark, all around me in my ears the sound of the earth falling apart.
At first, I couldn't figure out why I wasn't scared. Then I knew. I wasn't scared because someone else was more scared. And as soon as I saw there was someone more scared- it was so weird- in the moment I began to accept my own fear, and by accepting my fear I began to deal with it. p169
Weird, deep sobs in me the way you throw up. My face was down in the grass, I was eating grass, digging down, trying to get to dirt. How can we carry pain around like that and not know it?
p192
That moment, the way George looked at me, my arms, my chest and belly, my neck, my nipples, my naked skin, was my first time ever. All those years doing what I was not really doing, whacking off and breaking the sixth commandment- getting off only on my body and getting off- all of it always internal, isolated, in my head. An imagination of sex that went on within that had nothing to do with the world.
That day, though, when George's black eyes landed on my flesh, it was the first time ever sex was outside. Sex was what I saw in George's eyes. p271
The wind in the willow tree was Thunderbird. All around our ears, breath through the willows, a sound like the tree knew everything about George and me and, like us, didn't know what the fuck, so all afternoon, all it did was sigh and sigh. p283
Like to drive you nuts. Sweltering summer. Hot days, hot nights. Still no sleep, or not much. No whacking off, still. Tension in my muscles like a wild animal ready to spring. Something in my belly, too. Whenever I took a dump, it was shit spray. Then mom asked me again if anything was wrong. I said no. But I looked my eyes away as fast as I could because Billie Cody might have been psychic, but my mother was the grandmother of all psychics. At least with anything that had to do with me. p292
He looks so much like George,
something about the smell of his dad/George.
July 1, 2018
There are many reasons why I connected with this novel. The first is that it takes place in Pocatello, the place I did my undergraduate, and I recognized a few of the places that Rigby visited (Pocatello High, the Rez, and the now burned down Chief Theater). The second is because of Rigby John’s identity as a coming-of-age queer person living in a highly religious, rural area.
SIDE RANT: WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF TOM SPANBAUER BEFORE? Why must all things gay and beautiful about Idaho be kept from me until I leave the state?!? If you see this Mr. Spanbauer, I wanna meet you so bad.
What makes this novel different is its voice: Spanbauer uses repetition, thematic and literal, in a highly effective manner. Short phrases continually pop up, (smoking is praying, in that moment I loved God so much, moments of gesture) and they do work to establish emotion and create tension like I’ve never seen before.
The novel is not neat in its social politics. Racism runs amuck, even is personified in Rigby John’s father (who Rigby uses as a perpetual example of what not to be). Rigby also enters relationships where the age gap can and does incur an imbalance of power, something I’ve been critical of in popular media like Call Me By Your Name. There isn’t really any excuse for that, except for that it was another time, and the characters do address it directly. This is definitely a book that exists in the real, messed up world we live in, and for it to be anything other than what it was would be lying (and therefore breaking the ninth commandment...).
The part of this novel that I felt was most touching was Rigby’s roller coaster of a relationship with his mother. You could see her changes in character, through troubles in death and marriage and religion... She’s trapped in the social jail of the toxic patriarchy, as is Rigby, which I why I think they were able to connect as they did at various times throughout their lives. While Rigby’s father was mostly a stereotypical rough racist patriarch (which didn’t bother me at all), Rigby’s mom had her own heartbreaking arc, showing complexity in every page.
I cried in the break room.
I loved it and Imma give it to my friend.
SIDE RANT: WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF TOM SPANBAUER BEFORE? Why must all things gay and beautiful about Idaho be kept from me until I leave the state?!? If you see this Mr. Spanbauer, I wanna meet you so bad.
What makes this novel different is its voice: Spanbauer uses repetition, thematic and literal, in a highly effective manner. Short phrases continually pop up, (smoking is praying, in that moment I loved God so much, moments of gesture) and they do work to establish emotion and create tension like I’ve never seen before.
The novel is not neat in its social politics. Racism runs amuck, even is personified in Rigby John’s father (who Rigby uses as a perpetual example of what not to be). Rigby also enters relationships where the age gap can and does incur an imbalance of power, something I’ve been critical of in popular media like Call Me By Your Name. There isn’t really any excuse for that, except for that it was another time, and the characters do address it directly. This is definitely a book that exists in the real, messed up world we live in, and for it to be anything other than what it was would be lying (and therefore breaking the ninth commandment...).
The part of this novel that I felt was most touching was Rigby’s roller coaster of a relationship with his mother. You could see her changes in character, through troubles in death and marriage and religion... She’s trapped in the social jail of the toxic patriarchy, as is Rigby, which I why I think they were able to connect as they did at various times throughout their lives. While Rigby’s father was mostly a stereotypical rough racist patriarch (which didn’t bother me at all), Rigby’s mom had her own heartbreaking arc, showing complexity in every page.
I cried in the break room.
I loved it and Imma give it to my friend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2021
I had this one sitting on my desk for quite a while, eyeing it nervously, knowing that taking up a Tom Spanbauer novel means having your heart ripped out but, when all is over, returned to you in somewhat better shape than before you'd started reading. "I loved God so much right then," our narrator, the 16-17-year old Rigby John Klusener, says to himself -- or hears himself saying -- at various times, and with adjustments for eschatology, the same goes for the reader.
I haven't yet read Spanbauer's latest (and, as seems increasingly and unfortunately likely, his last) novel yet, but this might be the best introduction to his fiction. I won't bother with a plot summary; others have taken care of this. I'll just point out that the blizzard of echo-like leitmotivic phrases (like the one cited above) is more a gentle snowfall here, and the narrative a bit less complex in construction. The characteristic Spanbauer themes are here: oppressed and not infrequently brutalized adolescents in a forbidding rural Idaho climate and milieu; a search for wholeness that leads to a respect for, and perhaps even some degree of understanding of, the maltreated but surviving remnants of First Nations cultures and their relation to the cosmos. Oh, and the ending, which I won't spoil, is on the sweet side of bittersweet.
My only complaint is that these teenagers do seem improbably well-read for the outskirts of Pocatello ca. 1960, and that goes especially for the narrator, who would've never encountered Freud and Sartre in high school and certainly not at home, where his rosary-praying mother would've hung the *Index librorum prohibitorum* around his neck like a scapular or an albatross -- Rigby John is forbidden to watch any movie not approved by the *Idaho Catholic Register*, for instance -- but I'm willing to live with that. Youth desperate for escape from oppressively conservative society might just sneaking around forbidden literature along with the joints, I suppose. 4 1/2 stars.
I haven't yet read Spanbauer's latest (and, as seems increasingly and unfortunately likely, his last) novel yet, but this might be the best introduction to his fiction. I won't bother with a plot summary; others have taken care of this. I'll just point out that the blizzard of echo-like leitmotivic phrases (like the one cited above) is more a gentle snowfall here, and the narrative a bit less complex in construction. The characteristic Spanbauer themes are here: oppressed and not infrequently brutalized adolescents in a forbidding rural Idaho climate and milieu; a search for wholeness that leads to a respect for, and perhaps even some degree of understanding of, the maltreated but surviving remnants of First Nations cultures and their relation to the cosmos. Oh, and the ending, which I won't spoil, is on the sweet side of bittersweet.
My only complaint is that these teenagers do seem improbably well-read for the outskirts of Pocatello ca. 1960, and that goes especially for the narrator, who would've never encountered Freud and Sartre in high school and certainly not at home, where his rosary-praying mother would've hung the *Index librorum prohibitorum* around his neck like a scapular or an albatross -- Rigby John is forbidden to watch any movie not approved by the *Idaho Catholic Register*, for instance -- but I'm willing to live with that. Youth desperate for escape from oppressively conservative society might just sneaking around forbidden literature along with the joints, I suppose. 4 1/2 stars.
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