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alt.punk
We Need a Cleanup on Aisle Five Hazel is a middle-class hypochondriac doing (over)time as a manager at Safeway, the only place that would hire her with an MBA from a state school. She hates her boyfriend, her family, and her life. Otis is a guiltless weirdo who still has action figures in his bed; a postindustrial Peter Pan who wakes up in the middle of the night crying from nightmares he can't remember. A punk rock void, he describes the world with the creative imagination of a child. Together, they are a disaster. In alt.punk, Lavinia Ludlow explores the ragged edge of art, society, and sanity, viciously skewering the politics of rebellion. With a savage eye for detail, she unveils the layers of mythmaking that underlie class and ideology in the twenty-first century.
204 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
940 people want to read
About the author
Lavinia Ludlow
5 books38 followersLavinia Ludlow is a musician and writer born and raised in the Bay Area, California. She currently resides in San Francisco and London.
Her debut novel alt.punk, published by Casperian Books, explores the ragged edge of art, society, and sanity, viciously skewering the politics of rebellion. Her sophomore novel, Single Stroke Seven, is a narrative that sheds light on independent artists of a shipwrecked generation coming of age in perilous economic conditions.
Her short works have been published in Pear Noir!, Curbside Splendor Semi-Annual Journal, Nailed Magazine, and The Molotov Cocktail, and her indie lit reviews have appeared in Small Press Reviews, The Collagist, The Rumpus, The Nervous Breakdown, Entropy Magazine, and American Book Review.
Her debut novel alt.punk, published by Casperian Books, explores the ragged edge of art, society, and sanity, viciously skewering the politics of rebellion. Her sophomore novel, Single Stroke Seven, is a narrative that sheds light on independent artists of a shipwrecked generation coming of age in perilous economic conditions.
Her short works have been published in Pear Noir!, Curbside Splendor Semi-Annual Journal, Nailed Magazine, and The Molotov Cocktail, and her indie lit reviews have appeared in Small Press Reviews, The Collagist, The Rumpus, The Nervous Breakdown, Entropy Magazine, and American Book Review.
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July 10, 2011
From the moment I first heard of Lavina Ludlow’s debut novel, alt.punk, I knew it would be right up my alley. Germaphobia, hard music, and a sexy, man-boy lead singer in a punk band. I was so looking forward to it that I ordered it on release day. But, like Ludlow’s lead character, Hazel, I got too wrapped up in the drama of a day-job to find time to read it. Now, almost 4 months after the book arrived at my home, I got a long weekend to do absolutely nothing but sit down and read this really fascinating book.
Now, a warning up front…you better have a strong stomach before you dive into Ludlow’s world. There’s drugs, bodily fluids, drugs, excrement, drugs, irresponsible sex and...drugs. Hey, it’s rock and roll after all. Now, that to me is a plus, but it may not be everyone’s cup of Clorox. If it is, you’ll find yourself treated to a brilliantly dark, biting satire not only of the punk scene, but also of that middle class that settles for less than its dreams and of those who, about to exit their twenties, act as if they are living in Logan’s Run (well, the movie version), where life past 30 simply doesn’t exist.
Hazel is our heroine…so to speak…a work-a-day drone at the Safeway where she is on the fast track to upper management and a disturbingly lower-middle-class existence. Once a rebellious young teen entrenched in the anarchy and ethos of the punk scene, she now finds herself the embodiment of all that she rejected in her youth. She has to deal with employees with no work ethic, a mother who criticizes her weight and lack of a respectable boyfriend, and a strangling malaise that has hit her as she – gasp! – approaches 30. She carries with her an overwhelming sense of “where have I gone wrong” mixed with a pathological fear of germs.
One night, after feeling totally out of it at the performance of a local punk band, she finds herself entranced with Otis, the lead singer of the band. Charming, though grooming-challenged, Otis should be everything Hazel fears most: he oozes contaminating bodily fluids, his hair is a matted mess, he shoots drugs and shares needles as if there were no tomorrow. And that, is perhaps, what make Hazel, someone so afraid of everything about life, so drawn to him, a man recklessly afraid of not living. He’s boyishly charming and somehow manages not only to disagree with Hazel’s mother’s criticisms of her, but finds all those “flaws” irresistible. So what does Hazel do? She chucks it all away and goes on tour with Otis and Otis’ brother, a smart-ass, holier-than-though punk acolyte Hazel had once fired from Safeway.
Thus begins the tour and Ludlow immerses us in that world without pulling any punches. Ludlow’s own involvement in the music scene serves the novel well, the detail sharp and telling, and the characters are as real and vivid as the neighbors you really wish didn’t live next door to you. But there are two things that really make this novel stand out, especially for a freshman outing.
The first is the skill Ludlow has at drawing her characters. In a novel like this it is a very difficult thing to take two lead characters who could be easily be unlikable – a neurotic, germaphobe and a grimy, drug-addled rock and roller – and make them likable, but Ludlow is masterful. Hazel and Otis are so deftly drawn, that you can’t help but like them. Sid and Nancy they ain’t, though that may be their aspiration. When they first meet, the reader knows that Otis may be the best (or worst) thing to happen to Hazel, but he is what she needs in her life right now. Inexplicably, we find ourselves rooting for them to get together. Conversely, Hazel may be the best thing for Otis. Even Otis’ brother, Landon, a slacker beyond all slackers, is likable, his relationship with his brother surprisingly touching in a totally twisted, punker-than-thou way.
The second aspect of this novel which makes it remarkable is something I think has been largely overlooked in the other reviews I have read: the deeply satirical nature of the story. Ludlow skewers everyone in this novel and she does it with dark humor and a respectful understanding of the ails of her characters. The middle class who aspires to be bourgeoisie is represented by Hazel’s mother and by the direction Hazel sees her life headed. It’s that group that has sold out all they ever wanted to be for everything they ever wanted to have. They live for their children finding the proper marriage or the proper career or the proper car, so much so that they manage to tear their children down if they are even remotely different. But the punk scene also gets a few slashes from Ludlow’s pen as well. Sure, the excesses are part of the anarchy the scene ascribes to, but underneath it, Ludlow shows us that the punks can be just as judgmental of others in their own sphere who don’t ascribe to their particular view. In short, if you don’t like certain bands or certain drugs or a certain scene, you just ain’t punk enough. The scene—for all its desire for nonconformity, despises nonconformity within its own world. But most of all, Ludlow firmly jibes those who are intent upon having their midlife crises about 15 years too early.
So, does Hazel learn anything from her tour experiences? Does she let go of her fear of life so that she can start living? Is she redeemed? Does she pursue her dreams? Well, all of that would be just a little too pat for this novel and a little too chick-lit for an author of this caliber. In the end, Ludlow gives us a darkly funny, extremely critical view of not only the punk scene, but of the entire 21st century world where the only choices in life seem to be the extremities. Alt.punk is crude and crass, funny and serious, touching and absurd, but most of all, it’s engrossing...and gross. This ain’t no light beach read...unless the beach is outside a leaking chemical factory. It’s an anti-romance and, thankfully, the antithesis of – and antidote for—chick-lit everywhere. Highly recommended.
Now, a warning up front…you better have a strong stomach before you dive into Ludlow’s world. There’s drugs, bodily fluids, drugs, excrement, drugs, irresponsible sex and...drugs. Hey, it’s rock and roll after all. Now, that to me is a plus, but it may not be everyone’s cup of Clorox. If it is, you’ll find yourself treated to a brilliantly dark, biting satire not only of the punk scene, but also of that middle class that settles for less than its dreams and of those who, about to exit their twenties, act as if they are living in Logan’s Run (well, the movie version), where life past 30 simply doesn’t exist.
Hazel is our heroine…so to speak…a work-a-day drone at the Safeway where she is on the fast track to upper management and a disturbingly lower-middle-class existence. Once a rebellious young teen entrenched in the anarchy and ethos of the punk scene, she now finds herself the embodiment of all that she rejected in her youth. She has to deal with employees with no work ethic, a mother who criticizes her weight and lack of a respectable boyfriend, and a strangling malaise that has hit her as she – gasp! – approaches 30. She carries with her an overwhelming sense of “where have I gone wrong” mixed with a pathological fear of germs.
One night, after feeling totally out of it at the performance of a local punk band, she finds herself entranced with Otis, the lead singer of the band. Charming, though grooming-challenged, Otis should be everything Hazel fears most: he oozes contaminating bodily fluids, his hair is a matted mess, he shoots drugs and shares needles as if there were no tomorrow. And that, is perhaps, what make Hazel, someone so afraid of everything about life, so drawn to him, a man recklessly afraid of not living. He’s boyishly charming and somehow manages not only to disagree with Hazel’s mother’s criticisms of her, but finds all those “flaws” irresistible. So what does Hazel do? She chucks it all away and goes on tour with Otis and Otis’ brother, a smart-ass, holier-than-though punk acolyte Hazel had once fired from Safeway.
Thus begins the tour and Ludlow immerses us in that world without pulling any punches. Ludlow’s own involvement in the music scene serves the novel well, the detail sharp and telling, and the characters are as real and vivid as the neighbors you really wish didn’t live next door to you. But there are two things that really make this novel stand out, especially for a freshman outing.
The first is the skill Ludlow has at drawing her characters. In a novel like this it is a very difficult thing to take two lead characters who could be easily be unlikable – a neurotic, germaphobe and a grimy, drug-addled rock and roller – and make them likable, but Ludlow is masterful. Hazel and Otis are so deftly drawn, that you can’t help but like them. Sid and Nancy they ain’t, though that may be their aspiration. When they first meet, the reader knows that Otis may be the best (or worst) thing to happen to Hazel, but he is what she needs in her life right now. Inexplicably, we find ourselves rooting for them to get together. Conversely, Hazel may be the best thing for Otis. Even Otis’ brother, Landon, a slacker beyond all slackers, is likable, his relationship with his brother surprisingly touching in a totally twisted, punker-than-thou way.
The second aspect of this novel which makes it remarkable is something I think has been largely overlooked in the other reviews I have read: the deeply satirical nature of the story. Ludlow skewers everyone in this novel and she does it with dark humor and a respectful understanding of the ails of her characters. The middle class who aspires to be bourgeoisie is represented by Hazel’s mother and by the direction Hazel sees her life headed. It’s that group that has sold out all they ever wanted to be for everything they ever wanted to have. They live for their children finding the proper marriage or the proper career or the proper car, so much so that they manage to tear their children down if they are even remotely different. But the punk scene also gets a few slashes from Ludlow’s pen as well. Sure, the excesses are part of the anarchy the scene ascribes to, but underneath it, Ludlow shows us that the punks can be just as judgmental of others in their own sphere who don’t ascribe to their particular view. In short, if you don’t like certain bands or certain drugs or a certain scene, you just ain’t punk enough. The scene—for all its desire for nonconformity, despises nonconformity within its own world. But most of all, Ludlow firmly jibes those who are intent upon having their midlife crises about 15 years too early.
So, does Hazel learn anything from her tour experiences? Does she let go of her fear of life so that she can start living? Is she redeemed? Does she pursue her dreams? Well, all of that would be just a little too pat for this novel and a little too chick-lit for an author of this caliber. In the end, Ludlow gives us a darkly funny, extremely critical view of not only the punk scene, but of the entire 21st century world where the only choices in life seem to be the extremities. Alt.punk is crude and crass, funny and serious, touching and absurd, but most of all, it’s engrossing...and gross. This ain’t no light beach read...unless the beach is outside a leaking chemical factory. It’s an anti-romance and, thankfully, the antithesis of – and antidote for—chick-lit everywhere. Highly recommended.
May 1, 2011
As soundtrack to this novel, I recommend you create a new channel on Pandora by selecting my favorite hardcore band, Screeching Weasels. The main band featured in this book seems to be of the hardcore variety along the lines of NOFX, No Use for a Name, and the Weasels. Back in the day, I was a DJ for our college radio station, spinning indie rock, indie pop, and noise of all sorts. I was into punk at the time, but it was more of the syncopated dissonant variety, bands like The Jesus Lizard and Big Black.* Hardcore is more straightup and melodic (to me, anyway). Think of The Ramones with extra distortion and anger. The distinction is important because the scenes are very different. Hardcore was more leather jackets, tattoos, and piercings. Punk rawk came from the indie rock side and was populated by college emo kids dressed like slackers. Hardcore sometimes had a stiff PC code ranging from anarchist to straight edge. Punk was less rigid and somewhat less political. Bands like Fugazi straddled the line.
The main character in alt.punk is a hardcore germaphobe and hypochondriac who manages to fall into a relationship with a physically repulsive hardcore punk rocker. All you need is to be a rock star, right? He drools and spits while talking, he has bacne, he rarely bathes and is often covered in vomit, alcohol or dirt, and he has epileptic seizures mixed with the occasional suicide attempt. Oh, and he shoots heroin. Sounds like a match made in hellven. And it is.
Our main character, Hazel, has very low self-esteem. Her family has always psychologically abused her and beaten the esteem out of her. At the beginning of the novel, she is living with an unemployed actor who sponges off of her. She dumps him and falls for this punk rocker guy who at least has passion…even if he talks somewhat like a sixth grader with a big heart. He seems to represent a sort of freedom for her, freedom from the constraints of her abusive retail job and family. She hates both but is trapped by them until she quits to go on tour with her boyfriend’s band. Unfortunately, she also fails to get respect from the hardcore punk crowd around her boyfriend, and he’s too dim-witted to do anything to protect her. Hazel can’t seem to fit in anywhere, and she can’t seem to live independently either. She lacks the self-awareness to recognize that her germaphobia really is to the extreme of a mental illness. She can’t seem to move beyond that to feel good about herself. It’s rather torturous (not that the book is hard to read, it’s emotionally painful) to watch Hazel descend further and further into a drug-fueled haze that feels degrading.
Despite the dark relationships, some killer, hilarious lines lighten the load along the way. One of my favorites: “He appears to be having a snapdragon of a time discussing musical influence with my brother […] but after a quarter bottle of Absolut and a fistful of muscle relaxants, Otis could be having a snapdragon of a time if someone was whittling off his nut sac with a dull table knife.”
Oh, which reminds me, this book is also quite raw and revealing about sex and drugs. So specific that it kind of reminded me of some of the best of the bizarro literature out there, like Lance Carbuncle’s Grundish and Askew . alt.punk is also a book about sex and the strange ways that men and women’s bodies attempt to connect. It’s also a fascinating portrayal of a band’s touring lifestyle. If you’ve ever wanted an insider view…way, way inside…you’ll enjoy this.
Hardcore is a good metaphor for this story. While being quite funny at time, alt.punk is hardcore in its honesty and examination of a thoroughly modern relationship: Caught between the mundane world of the bourgeois and the poverty of the bohemian, where is there to go? SUVs or dumpster diving? Do we have more choices than that?
*See also my intro to this review.
The main character in alt.punk is a hardcore germaphobe and hypochondriac who manages to fall into a relationship with a physically repulsive hardcore punk rocker. All you need is to be a rock star, right? He drools and spits while talking, he has bacne, he rarely bathes and is often covered in vomit, alcohol or dirt, and he has epileptic seizures mixed with the occasional suicide attempt. Oh, and he shoots heroin. Sounds like a match made in hellven. And it is.
Our main character, Hazel, has very low self-esteem. Her family has always psychologically abused her and beaten the esteem out of her. At the beginning of the novel, she is living with an unemployed actor who sponges off of her. She dumps him and falls for this punk rocker guy who at least has passion…even if he talks somewhat like a sixth grader with a big heart. He seems to represent a sort of freedom for her, freedom from the constraints of her abusive retail job and family. She hates both but is trapped by them until she quits to go on tour with her boyfriend’s band. Unfortunately, she also fails to get respect from the hardcore punk crowd around her boyfriend, and he’s too dim-witted to do anything to protect her. Hazel can’t seem to fit in anywhere, and she can’t seem to live independently either. She lacks the self-awareness to recognize that her germaphobia really is to the extreme of a mental illness. She can’t seem to move beyond that to feel good about herself. It’s rather torturous (not that the book is hard to read, it’s emotionally painful) to watch Hazel descend further and further into a drug-fueled haze that feels degrading.
Despite the dark relationships, some killer, hilarious lines lighten the load along the way. One of my favorites: “He appears to be having a snapdragon of a time discussing musical influence with my brother […] but after a quarter bottle of Absolut and a fistful of muscle relaxants, Otis could be having a snapdragon of a time if someone was whittling off his nut sac with a dull table knife.”
Oh, which reminds me, this book is also quite raw and revealing about sex and drugs. So specific that it kind of reminded me of some of the best of the bizarro literature out there, like Lance Carbuncle’s Grundish and Askew . alt.punk is also a book about sex and the strange ways that men and women’s bodies attempt to connect. It’s also a fascinating portrayal of a band’s touring lifestyle. If you’ve ever wanted an insider view…way, way inside…you’ll enjoy this.
Hardcore is a good metaphor for this story. While being quite funny at time, alt.punk is hardcore in its honesty and examination of a thoroughly modern relationship: Caught between the mundane world of the bourgeois and the poverty of the bohemian, where is there to go? SUVs or dumpster diving? Do we have more choices than that?
*See also my intro to this review.
January 20, 2011
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
Based on its title and cover, it'd be natural to assume that Lavinia Ludlow's literary debut alt.punk is going to be a sort-of tell-all novel about the music industry, especially given the author's past as a drummer for various bands herself. But this instead turns out to be a more interesting and charming thing, a confessional-style tale (i.e. it feels like you're sneakily reading someone's blog) about our sympathetic but undeniably trainwrecky narrator, as she stumbles in and out of a series of nightmare relationships with barely functioning grimy musicians in the San Francisco/Sacramento area of northern California, while constantly fending off comments about her weight and career from her dysfunctional family, accepting pent-up abuse from retail flunkies in her job as a pharmacy manager, and OCD-obsessing over germs and cleanliness so incessantly that it makes Woody Allen seem well-adjusted. As such, then, alt.punk is surprisingly funny while still being utterly relentless in its abuse, both self- and outer- in nature, an extremely true-feeling tale that nonetheless veers into cartoonish exaggeration at points (oy vey, all those descriptions of her boyfriend's "Grey Gardens" style nightmare apartment). Fascinating like a car crash, this was one of the rare books I found myself literally unable to put down until I had finished it (thankfully only later that night, in that this 200-page novel is quite breezy), another winner from the regularly reviewed Casperian Books that is well worth your time and money. It comes highly recommended to my fellow artsy slackers.
Out of 10: 9.2
Based on its title and cover, it'd be natural to assume that Lavinia Ludlow's literary debut alt.punk is going to be a sort-of tell-all novel about the music industry, especially given the author's past as a drummer for various bands herself. But this instead turns out to be a more interesting and charming thing, a confessional-style tale (i.e. it feels like you're sneakily reading someone's blog) about our sympathetic but undeniably trainwrecky narrator, as she stumbles in and out of a series of nightmare relationships with barely functioning grimy musicians in the San Francisco/Sacramento area of northern California, while constantly fending off comments about her weight and career from her dysfunctional family, accepting pent-up abuse from retail flunkies in her job as a pharmacy manager, and OCD-obsessing over germs and cleanliness so incessantly that it makes Woody Allen seem well-adjusted. As such, then, alt.punk is surprisingly funny while still being utterly relentless in its abuse, both self- and outer- in nature, an extremely true-feeling tale that nonetheless veers into cartoonish exaggeration at points (oy vey, all those descriptions of her boyfriend's "Grey Gardens" style nightmare apartment). Fascinating like a car crash, this was one of the rare books I found myself literally unable to put down until I had finished it (thankfully only later that night, in that this 200-page novel is quite breezy), another winner from the regularly reviewed Casperian Books that is well worth your time and money. It comes highly recommended to my fellow artsy slackers.
Out of 10: 9.2
July 6, 2011
from author
Read 7/3/11 - 7/4/11
5 Stars -Highly Recommended / The Next Best Book
Pgs: 202
I gotta tell ya, it's nice to have author friends. What's even nicer is having author friends who have similar literary tastes to you. Wanna know what's even nicer than that? Having author friends who have awesome taste in literature (who like what you like) who introduce you to new awesome literature!
I may never have read Lavinia Ludlow's alt.punk if it wasn't for longtime TNBBC buddy Ben Tanzer mentioning the author's name on a post I wrote back in March illustrating the top 10 authors who deserve more recognition. An anonymous account commented on how surprised they were that I named only male authors, and to be honest, until I had created that list, I hadn't noticed just how few female authors I had actually read.
Looking at it, my female to male ratio was really embarrassing. Just to give you an idea - out of 52 books on a random bookshelf, containing books I have already read, only 2 were written by females. (Since my lack of exposure to female authors was brought to my attention, I have made an attempt to level out the reading field - currently, of the last 20 books I have read, 6 of them were written by females.)
And before I take this review and turn it into a blog post where I compare and contrast gender in literature and rationalize my obvious-to-everyone-but-me preference for male authors, let me just say that I didn't chose to review alt.punk solely on the fact that it was penned by a female. It may have been brought to my attention because it was penned by a female, but that is not why I decided to review it.
I decided to review it based on the jacket copy, which described it's protagonist as a "middle-class hypochondriac" who hates "her boyfriend, her family, and her life", and refers to the book as a novel that "explores the ragged edge of art, society, and sanity...". It sounded edgy, angsty, and right up my alley. And I suddenly had to have it.
The novel begins with our germ-and-pubic-hair-hating protagonist delivering a less-than-enthusiastic blowjob to her boyfriend. As she performs the act with eyes squeezed shut so tightly they go numb, wishing she could glue them together to avoid them randomly popping open, she fights the urge to dry heave as she thinks things like "This is where he pees" and "maybe I am gay because it's not natural to hate it this much".
Within the first few pages, Ludlow paints an extremely awkward and uncomfortable picture of what it is like to live life as Hazel - a woman who is tortured by the very thought of unclean, unsanitary, unbleached objects coming into contact with her. She scrubs her walls with disinfectant, pours herself bleach baths, and repeatedly visits her doctor convinced that she's contacted every single illness or virus she's ever heard of.
No wonder sex is such a disgusting concept to her. It's a breeding ground for disease! All that sharing of saliva and bodily fluids... yuck!
As if suffering through all of this wasn't enough, she is also tormented by her family's constant nitpicking over her weight. Tipping the scales at a mere 115 pounds, Hazel is the heaviest female in her family, a fact that she is reminded of almost daily. She refuses to eat in front of them for fear of being called "fat" and binges on cases of diet soda, handfuls of chocolate, and bags of chips within the uncontaminated walls of her apartment.
It doesn't help that her boyfriend Kree is a jobless mooch, leaving her the responsibility of "bringing home the bacon"(another concept she despises since she doesn't eat meat). She hates her job as Manager of Safeway, gets no respect from her subordinates, and secretly wishes she could punch every single customer who complains directly in the throat.
Of course, one can only handle the stress and pressure of living like this for so long. One stray pubic hair floating in the kitchen sink is all it takes to breaks her. In a suffocating moment of fury, she kicks her boyfriend out of the house and soon finds herself hanging out with the lead singer of a punk rock band.
Desperate for a change, and incredibly drawn to this unclean, slobbering, drug and alcohol addicted frontman, Hazel makes the incredibly difficult decision to leave her extremely controlled life behind and tour with the band across North America.
We watch as Hazel slowly evolves from a severe hypochondriac/germaphobe to a prescription drug addicted groupie who finds herself bathing in gas station bathrooms, wearing the same dirty clothes days in a row, and cleaning up the vomit and blood that nightly find their way out her lover.
Ludlow reveals the imperfections and ugly truths of life on the road with a punk rock band, while endearing us to this emotionally stilted and sarcastic woman. It's sort of like a "coming of age" story, although that isn't quite the right term, since our leading lady is in her early thirties. So perhaps it's more of a raw and ragged look at a woman suffering from a quarter-life crisis?
Either way, it's edgy, it's full of sex and drugs and rock and roll, and it's impressive as hell for a first novel. It caught my attention from the very first line, and held onto it so tightly that I plowed through the novel in an entire day. I couldn't bear to be away from it - the only times I put the book down were to eat, pee, and feed the animals.
Though I'm not a neat and clean freak, and I've never traveled on the road with a band before, there were so many aspects of this novel that I could relate to. The griminess of the road paralleled my weekend camping trips - the initial shock of having to "go" in the woods, stinking like campfire and dirt, picking bugs off of your clothes and knots out of your hair. The stress of attempting to keep a clean house when you live with someone who can't put their own laundry away, or wipe up the pee they've dribbled all over the toilet seat...I get it. I really do.
Ok, I'm going to end this review before it becomes a book of it's own in need of a review....
Do me a favor, go out there and get yourself a copy of this. It's Catcher in the Rye in it's thirties. It's the female version of Banned for Life. It's everything you want a book written by female about a female to be. It's the anti-chick-lit of independent literature. And it's waiting be read by you!
Read 7/3/11 - 7/4/11
5 Stars -Highly Recommended / The Next Best Book
Pgs: 202
I gotta tell ya, it's nice to have author friends. What's even nicer is having author friends who have similar literary tastes to you. Wanna know what's even nicer than that? Having author friends who have awesome taste in literature (who like what you like) who introduce you to new awesome literature!
I may never have read Lavinia Ludlow's alt.punk if it wasn't for longtime TNBBC buddy Ben Tanzer mentioning the author's name on a post I wrote back in March illustrating the top 10 authors who deserve more recognition. An anonymous account commented on how surprised they were that I named only male authors, and to be honest, until I had created that list, I hadn't noticed just how few female authors I had actually read.
Looking at it, my female to male ratio was really embarrassing. Just to give you an idea - out of 52 books on a random bookshelf, containing books I have already read, only 2 were written by females. (Since my lack of exposure to female authors was brought to my attention, I have made an attempt to level out the reading field - currently, of the last 20 books I have read, 6 of them were written by females.)
And before I take this review and turn it into a blog post where I compare and contrast gender in literature and rationalize my obvious-to-everyone-but-me preference for male authors, let me just say that I didn't chose to review alt.punk solely on the fact that it was penned by a female. It may have been brought to my attention because it was penned by a female, but that is not why I decided to review it.
I decided to review it based on the jacket copy, which described it's protagonist as a "middle-class hypochondriac" who hates "her boyfriend, her family, and her life", and refers to the book as a novel that "explores the ragged edge of art, society, and sanity...". It sounded edgy, angsty, and right up my alley. And I suddenly had to have it.
The novel begins with our germ-and-pubic-hair-hating protagonist delivering a less-than-enthusiastic blowjob to her boyfriend. As she performs the act with eyes squeezed shut so tightly they go numb, wishing she could glue them together to avoid them randomly popping open, she fights the urge to dry heave as she thinks things like "This is where he pees" and "maybe I am gay because it's not natural to hate it this much".
Within the first few pages, Ludlow paints an extremely awkward and uncomfortable picture of what it is like to live life as Hazel - a woman who is tortured by the very thought of unclean, unsanitary, unbleached objects coming into contact with her. She scrubs her walls with disinfectant, pours herself bleach baths, and repeatedly visits her doctor convinced that she's contacted every single illness or virus she's ever heard of.
No wonder sex is such a disgusting concept to her. It's a breeding ground for disease! All that sharing of saliva and bodily fluids... yuck!
As if suffering through all of this wasn't enough, she is also tormented by her family's constant nitpicking over her weight. Tipping the scales at a mere 115 pounds, Hazel is the heaviest female in her family, a fact that she is reminded of almost daily. She refuses to eat in front of them for fear of being called "fat" and binges on cases of diet soda, handfuls of chocolate, and bags of chips within the uncontaminated walls of her apartment.
It doesn't help that her boyfriend Kree is a jobless mooch, leaving her the responsibility of "bringing home the bacon"(another concept she despises since she doesn't eat meat). She hates her job as Manager of Safeway, gets no respect from her subordinates, and secretly wishes she could punch every single customer who complains directly in the throat.
Of course, one can only handle the stress and pressure of living like this for so long. One stray pubic hair floating in the kitchen sink is all it takes to breaks her. In a suffocating moment of fury, she kicks her boyfriend out of the house and soon finds herself hanging out with the lead singer of a punk rock band.
Desperate for a change, and incredibly drawn to this unclean, slobbering, drug and alcohol addicted frontman, Hazel makes the incredibly difficult decision to leave her extremely controlled life behind and tour with the band across North America.
We watch as Hazel slowly evolves from a severe hypochondriac/germaphobe to a prescription drug addicted groupie who finds herself bathing in gas station bathrooms, wearing the same dirty clothes days in a row, and cleaning up the vomit and blood that nightly find their way out her lover.
Ludlow reveals the imperfections and ugly truths of life on the road with a punk rock band, while endearing us to this emotionally stilted and sarcastic woman. It's sort of like a "coming of age" story, although that isn't quite the right term, since our leading lady is in her early thirties. So perhaps it's more of a raw and ragged look at a woman suffering from a quarter-life crisis?
Either way, it's edgy, it's full of sex and drugs and rock and roll, and it's impressive as hell for a first novel. It caught my attention from the very first line, and held onto it so tightly that I plowed through the novel in an entire day. I couldn't bear to be away from it - the only times I put the book down were to eat, pee, and feed the animals.
Though I'm not a neat and clean freak, and I've never traveled on the road with a band before, there were so many aspects of this novel that I could relate to. The griminess of the road paralleled my weekend camping trips - the initial shock of having to "go" in the woods, stinking like campfire and dirt, picking bugs off of your clothes and knots out of your hair. The stress of attempting to keep a clean house when you live with someone who can't put their own laundry away, or wipe up the pee they've dribbled all over the toilet seat...I get it. I really do.
Ok, I'm going to end this review before it becomes a book of it's own in need of a review....
Do me a favor, go out there and get yourself a copy of this. It's Catcher in the Rye in it's thirties. It's the female version of Banned for Life. It's everything you want a book written by female about a female to be. It's the anti-chick-lit of independent literature. And it's waiting be read by you!
April 18, 2011
This book pretty much blew me away. I was knocked down by the humor, the cleverness of the language and descriptions, completely in awe of the vivid, original and yet recognizable (beneath & in some instances for all their tics) characters. Despite her pessimism, hypochondria and extreme germ phobia, there was something weirdly loveable and endearing about the protagonist Hazel—I think a lot of it had to do with her wit and hilarious observations that were tempered in a sort of deadpan—difficult to pull off, and something Ludlow nailed brilliantly.
I know it's less helpful to say “I loved, I loved…” but I’m going to give a list anyway: As mentioned, I adored Hazel, for all her many hang-ups—as much as she was an extreme as far as her phobias and tics, I also found her vastly more real than so many other (most!) youngish women in fiction. I loved her frankness and nonchalance about the chore-sex with Kree, and what she found romantic about her time with Otis—what she missed most about him when they were apart—not just “his smell, taste, the heat of his body” but “the stupid shit, like how his feet are a size thirteen but he doesn’t have half the dick to account for it, the way his stubble rubs the inside of my thighs raw, and how he refuses to fuck me in any position which puts me on my back because he says that’s how most women get raped…”
There’s a scene not quite midway through the book that also stood out—it’s probably the moment when the book truly had me—when Otis and Hazel were hanging out in a cemetery:
“We spend the night groping each other on the floor of the mausoleum, kissing till our lips are ready to bleed, and sipping Slurpee and whisky concoctions. In the parking lot we outline each other with soggy chalk and creatively tag our positions with titles like ‘Suicide by Cop,’ ‘Speedball Overdose,’ and his favorite that he made up for himself, ‘Death by Sodomy.’”
And he gives her his tooth: “I examine it in the dim street lighting, run the pad of my thumb over the ridges of the tooth, and close my hand around it. I have no job, no health insurance, and I’m about to leave the confines of Northern California with a bunch of musicians; but I have his tooth, a big one, and in my palm it feels like more than just collateral—it’s comfort.”
Lovely lovely lovely (I’m not being facetious!)
And the way Ludlow handles Hazel’s relationship with food and her (supposedly) ‘fat ass.’ (It’s revealed she’s hovering somewhere around 110—hardly a lardass, unless she’s also two-feet tall!) Not sure I can even put my finger on it, but Ludlow touched upon Hazel’s eating disorder in a manner that was real, heartbreaking, humorous—and anything but trite.
I am so glad for this book, glad for Casperian who published it (can’t wait to check out some of their other titles) and most of all, so glad to have discovered Lavinia Ludlow. Looking forward to her next book, and in the meantime, I highly recommend Alt.Punk (put your seatbelt on, unless you want to go smashing through the windshield, and you will…)
I know it's less helpful to say “I loved, I loved…” but I’m going to give a list anyway: As mentioned, I adored Hazel, for all her many hang-ups—as much as she was an extreme as far as her phobias and tics, I also found her vastly more real than so many other (most!) youngish women in fiction. I loved her frankness and nonchalance about the chore-sex with Kree, and what she found romantic about her time with Otis—what she missed most about him when they were apart—not just “his smell, taste, the heat of his body” but “the stupid shit, like how his feet are a size thirteen but he doesn’t have half the dick to account for it, the way his stubble rubs the inside of my thighs raw, and how he refuses to fuck me in any position which puts me on my back because he says that’s how most women get raped…”
There’s a scene not quite midway through the book that also stood out—it’s probably the moment when the book truly had me—when Otis and Hazel were hanging out in a cemetery:
“We spend the night groping each other on the floor of the mausoleum, kissing till our lips are ready to bleed, and sipping Slurpee and whisky concoctions. In the parking lot we outline each other with soggy chalk and creatively tag our positions with titles like ‘Suicide by Cop,’ ‘Speedball Overdose,’ and his favorite that he made up for himself, ‘Death by Sodomy.’”
And he gives her his tooth: “I examine it in the dim street lighting, run the pad of my thumb over the ridges of the tooth, and close my hand around it. I have no job, no health insurance, and I’m about to leave the confines of Northern California with a bunch of musicians; but I have his tooth, a big one, and in my palm it feels like more than just collateral—it’s comfort.”
Lovely lovely lovely (I’m not being facetious!)
And the way Ludlow handles Hazel’s relationship with food and her (supposedly) ‘fat ass.’ (It’s revealed she’s hovering somewhere around 110—hardly a lardass, unless she’s also two-feet tall!) Not sure I can even put my finger on it, but Ludlow touched upon Hazel’s eating disorder in a manner that was real, heartbreaking, humorous—and anything but trite.
I am so glad for this book, glad for Casperian who published it (can’t wait to check out some of their other titles) and most of all, so glad to have discovered Lavinia Ludlow. Looking forward to her next book, and in the meantime, I highly recommend Alt.Punk (put your seatbelt on, unless you want to go smashing through the windshield, and you will…)
April 12, 2011
This book is absolutely fabulous!
So fabulous in fact, I had to read it twice because the first time I inhaled the text like Hazel does diet soda. Then on the second reading, I took my time and still came to the conclusion that this book just rocks!
I could totally relate to Hazel (except for the whole hypocondriac/germaphobe thing) and really enjoyed going along for the ride. It made a few things about my own life clearer in the process, so I'm grateful for those insights.
I really liked the chaotic frenzied feel of the book and the descriptions were spot on. It totally made me revert back to teenagedom/early 20's when I had my mom blabbling in one ear and Dead Kennedy's blasting in the other. So, even though I might not look as punky as I once did (I still have my nose ring and tattoos), the music will always live on in my heart.
All in all, I was throughly entertained by alt.punk and not offended at all and I can't wait to read Lavinia Ludlow's next book, as she's a new author I'm going to keep my eye on for sure!
So fabulous in fact, I had to read it twice because the first time I inhaled the text like Hazel does diet soda. Then on the second reading, I took my time and still came to the conclusion that this book just rocks!
I could totally relate to Hazel (except for the whole hypocondriac/germaphobe thing) and really enjoyed going along for the ride. It made a few things about my own life clearer in the process, so I'm grateful for those insights.
I really liked the chaotic frenzied feel of the book and the descriptions were spot on. It totally made me revert back to teenagedom/early 20's when I had my mom blabbling in one ear and Dead Kennedy's blasting in the other. So, even though I might not look as punky as I once did (I still have my nose ring and tattoos), the music will always live on in my heart.
All in all, I was throughly entertained by alt.punk and not offended at all and I can't wait to read Lavinia Ludlow's next book, as she's a new author I'm going to keep my eye on for sure!
May 17, 2016
Five years ago I told someone on my Goodreads friends list, Lavinia Ludlow, that I wanted to read her first book, which had just been published at the time. I bought the book, and then realized, "Shit, what if I don't like it? I'm not reviewing books for a living, so what good would it do to for me to read this and then pan it on Goodreads if it wasn't my cup of tea? I don't want to discourage or hurt a budding writer. Maybe this is a mistake."
As it happened, life happened, and the book -- along with quite a few other books and things -- became shelved into forgotten recesses. I was relieved of the pressure.
The reading habit slowly came back to me, though. And I remembered the book, found it and dived in.
As it turned out, I needn't have worried. Ludlow has mad skills. Mad skills indeed.
From the opening pages, I did feel a little concerned because it became quickly apparent that Ludlow's protagonist and story seemed to be headed over a very precarious path that literature has taken us since that milestone moment when Holden Caulfield first dissed everyone around him in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. The literary landscape has since become strewn with youthful smart-asses rebelling against something or another, like the one at the center of alt.punk; a lot of them fairly obvious, uninspired and forgettable.
In Ludlow's alt.punk, her female Caulfield is a young, harried, underpaid, overworked Safeway retail manager and love-challenged punk-music nut named, Hazel (a.k.a. "Hazelnut"), who's painfully aware of the inertia of her life but not quite sure what can be done about it, and who thus clings to whatever tidbits of stability she can, even if those things include reliably unreliable boyfriends or dead-end jobs. To compound things, she's a germaphobe -- a hypochondriac of titanic proportions. No space, indoor or outdoor, is deemed safe by her; obsessed as she is with every possible type of contamination that might be afoot. After throwing off a clingy, unkempt, lazy, loser boyfriend, Kree, she takes on another slothful boyfriend: a drug-abusing punk rocker named Otis with whom she plunges into a lifestyle of co-dependency, drugs and heedless dangers. Despite her germophobia, she seems willing (though not without great angst) to overlook the filthiness of her lovers simply because they give her the only anchors or sense of love she's ever had. All the while, Hazel is struggling to complete a novel that suspiciously and self-referentially sounds a lot like alt.punk.
In unsteady or unskilled hands, this set-up and character, screams amateur night. Snarky, misanthropic young suburban girls railing against the banality of corporate American culture and harboring debilitating obsessions while finding solace in rebellious rock music can turn an author into a one-trick pony fast. Snark and sarcasm are too-easy tropes, and if they're used, they have to be used well.
Luckily, Ludlow has a tremendous wit, an uncanny mastery of the turn of phrase, and great facility for precision and detail. By making Hazel so obsessive, her statements and predicaments do not seem forced or overdone. The dialogues among the characters flow extremely well. The book is laugh-out-loud funny and her characters so well-drawn that you can literally smell them (not necessarily a good thing, at least if you decide to have a snack while reading this, because there's a lot of puking and reeking going on).
Having Hazel be a hypochondriac may seem like stacking the deck, but it actually allows Ludlow a springboard to comment on the contradictory impulses of an information-overload age. Is it better the use sunscreen and get skin cancer from the chemicals, for instance, or better to not use it and get skin cancer from the sun? How can one find the right path in when the signs all point everywhere?
The book is about character, situation and observation, so those looking for plot may find it wanting in that regard, but I didn't because I think plotting is overrated. It's not plots that make me think or make me laugh or make me feel. I will say the book is pretty relentless and may wear some readers down with the intensity of the characters' willfully nurtured flaws.
In her tone, characterizations and situations, it's clear that Ludlow has an affinity for one of my favorite contemporary light novelists, Arthur Nersesian, and in this she actually matches and surpasses him at times. She certainly out-Nersesians Nersesian insofar as his most recent output, which has gotten a bit strained. Ludlow allows familiar situations to drive her story, and that allows her characters free reign to be delightful, gross, infuriating, and naggingly, irrationally human.
The only real caveat I have with the book is the cover art, which tries to mimic a punk aesthetic but is actually a bit too DIY for its own good. It doesn't indicate the quality of what's inside.
(KevinR@Ky 2016)
As it happened, life happened, and the book -- along with quite a few other books and things -- became shelved into forgotten recesses. I was relieved of the pressure.
The reading habit slowly came back to me, though. And I remembered the book, found it and dived in.
As it turned out, I needn't have worried. Ludlow has mad skills. Mad skills indeed.
From the opening pages, I did feel a little concerned because it became quickly apparent that Ludlow's protagonist and story seemed to be headed over a very precarious path that literature has taken us since that milestone moment when Holden Caulfield first dissed everyone around him in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. The literary landscape has since become strewn with youthful smart-asses rebelling against something or another, like the one at the center of alt.punk; a lot of them fairly obvious, uninspired and forgettable.
In Ludlow's alt.punk, her female Caulfield is a young, harried, underpaid, overworked Safeway retail manager and love-challenged punk-music nut named, Hazel (a.k.a. "Hazelnut"), who's painfully aware of the inertia of her life but not quite sure what can be done about it, and who thus clings to whatever tidbits of stability she can, even if those things include reliably unreliable boyfriends or dead-end jobs. To compound things, she's a germaphobe -- a hypochondriac of titanic proportions. No space, indoor or outdoor, is deemed safe by her; obsessed as she is with every possible type of contamination that might be afoot. After throwing off a clingy, unkempt, lazy, loser boyfriend, Kree, she takes on another slothful boyfriend: a drug-abusing punk rocker named Otis with whom she plunges into a lifestyle of co-dependency, drugs and heedless dangers. Despite her germophobia, she seems willing (though not without great angst) to overlook the filthiness of her lovers simply because they give her the only anchors or sense of love she's ever had. All the while, Hazel is struggling to complete a novel that suspiciously and self-referentially sounds a lot like alt.punk.
In unsteady or unskilled hands, this set-up and character, screams amateur night. Snarky, misanthropic young suburban girls railing against the banality of corporate American culture and harboring debilitating obsessions while finding solace in rebellious rock music can turn an author into a one-trick pony fast. Snark and sarcasm are too-easy tropes, and if they're used, they have to be used well.
Luckily, Ludlow has a tremendous wit, an uncanny mastery of the turn of phrase, and great facility for precision and detail. By making Hazel so obsessive, her statements and predicaments do not seem forced or overdone. The dialogues among the characters flow extremely well. The book is laugh-out-loud funny and her characters so well-drawn that you can literally smell them (not necessarily a good thing, at least if you decide to have a snack while reading this, because there's a lot of puking and reeking going on).
Having Hazel be a hypochondriac may seem like stacking the deck, but it actually allows Ludlow a springboard to comment on the contradictory impulses of an information-overload age. Is it better the use sunscreen and get skin cancer from the chemicals, for instance, or better to not use it and get skin cancer from the sun? How can one find the right path in when the signs all point everywhere?
The book is about character, situation and observation, so those looking for plot may find it wanting in that regard, but I didn't because I think plotting is overrated. It's not plots that make me think or make me laugh or make me feel. I will say the book is pretty relentless and may wear some readers down with the intensity of the characters' willfully nurtured flaws.
In her tone, characterizations and situations, it's clear that Ludlow has an affinity for one of my favorite contemporary light novelists, Arthur Nersesian, and in this she actually matches and surpasses him at times. She certainly out-Nersesians Nersesian insofar as his most recent output, which has gotten a bit strained. Ludlow allows familiar situations to drive her story, and that allows her characters free reign to be delightful, gross, infuriating, and naggingly, irrationally human.
The only real caveat I have with the book is the cover art, which tries to mimic a punk aesthetic but is actually a bit too DIY for its own good. It doesn't indicate the quality of what's inside.
(KevinR@Ky 2016)
June 16, 2011
Loved this book. Fun to read. I read it on a beach, literally, in Mexico, with Coronas quite on demand. It reminded me a little of Darren Aronofsky's films (Requiem for a Dream, Pi, The Wrestler) (ok not quite as dark), because of how it made me cringe, but yet was sprinkled with beautiful, enlightening moments. It's essentially the story of Hazel, a young lady who, well, has problems 'fitting' in with society. She wants to write but is held back by her family, loser boyfriend, the need to fit in. She finds the right spark in an equally (if not more) troubled punk band front-man. She goes on the road with the band and it all falls apart, but in the process and aftermath she begins to find herself (sort of). What surprised me the most about this book is how imbedded in the story there's the story of a writer ‘coming-of-age’, how she discovers what it takes to really bring a manuscript to publication, almost as if Lavinia worked in her own coming-of-age into the narrative. As a writer myself with one novel under my belt, I totally dug that.
I'd give this a 4 1/2 if I could, but looks like I can't. Lavinia is a talented writer who really brings her characters to life. I still have vivid images of them and the gross situations they find themselves in. She will continue to bring it, that's for sure.
I'd give this a 4 1/2 if I could, but looks like I can't. Lavinia is a talented writer who really brings her characters to life. I still have vivid images of them and the gross situations they find themselves in. She will continue to bring it, that's for sure.
February 6, 2011
I know I'm commenting on my own novel, but it was a great experience to write it, and I enjoyed editing it even more. The folks at Casperian Books are amazingly talented.
I hope you enjoy my debut title. All thoughts are welcome.
I hope you enjoy my debut title. All thoughts are welcome.
March 20, 2011
Reprinted from Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene
Whacked Out Characters Rule in ALT.PUNK
ALT.PUNK
by Lavinia Ludlow
Casperian Books
978-1-934081-29-7
$15.00
If I were to review this book in one sentence it would be the following: Author Lavinia Ludlow covers her characters and sets the book in such heavy slime that even her protagonist, Hazel, an OCD germ freak cannot wash it off.
When the book opens, Hazel is stuck in her own personal jail. She is a writer that aimlessly manages a Safeway, sterilizes her home nightly in bleach, has food hang-ups and dates Kree, a wannabe actor who loses copious amounts of pubic hair around the house. You get the feeling, dealing through the eyes of Hazel that anything physical involving the world or Kree should be dealt with wearing Hazmat suit.
Hazel makes enough money to support both of them while worrying most of the time about the danger of fluids and germs floating in her impossible to keep perfect environment. How does a woman get into this mental state? I would guess that there is definitely mother issues and here Ludlow does not let us down by creating a neurosis producing monster; a nit picking, nagging, negative, perfectionist who is sprinkled with a large dose of mean straight up.
This is just the tip of the iceberg which sends Hazel off to a new boyfriend, Otis who fronts the band Riot Venom. Otis makes the grungy Kree feel squeaky clean in comparison. In nearly every scene involving Otis, the reader often feels like they’re living in the dirtiest of public restrooms complete with the Loch Ness turd poking over the water line. This creates an opportunity for Hazel to leaves her job and her life to go on tour with Riot Venom and in essense to take care of her new love, Otis, on the road. Without spoiling the outcome, Hazel’s life spirals out of control with drugs and germs, piss and puke, as well as sarcasm and suicidal ideologies. What creates a brilliant counter jab in this punch in the face novel is the ability of Ludlow to produce poignant sardonic humor within Hazel, often involving Landon (Otis’s anarchist and loyal brother). The constant banter and one-liners made this a very enjoyable reading experience.
Also of note, for a book that focuses and is mostly set within a band, Ludlow’s experience as a musician really pays off. There are no descriptions of “crisp drum openings” or the “boom-boom-booms” of the bass. This pre-school style musical terms are often found in books where the author has no idea what they are musically talking about or are just bad writers. Ludlow’s novel is about the characters whom happen to play music. This people are believable and real even at their most self-destructive times. In life, we’ve all had friends that have made decisions that lead them down dark roads and if you’ve lived long enough know there is nothing you can do about it. In alt.punk when you recognize this you can make a decision to stop reading but in my case I was glad that I didn’t. I was completely rewarded and entertained by this fun and often tongue in cheek novel. Recommended.
Whacked Out Characters Rule in ALT.PUNK
ALT.PUNK
by Lavinia Ludlow
Casperian Books
978-1-934081-29-7
$15.00
If I were to review this book in one sentence it would be the following: Author Lavinia Ludlow covers her characters and sets the book in such heavy slime that even her protagonist, Hazel, an OCD germ freak cannot wash it off.
When the book opens, Hazel is stuck in her own personal jail. She is a writer that aimlessly manages a Safeway, sterilizes her home nightly in bleach, has food hang-ups and dates Kree, a wannabe actor who loses copious amounts of pubic hair around the house. You get the feeling, dealing through the eyes of Hazel that anything physical involving the world or Kree should be dealt with wearing Hazmat suit.
Hazel makes enough money to support both of them while worrying most of the time about the danger of fluids and germs floating in her impossible to keep perfect environment. How does a woman get into this mental state? I would guess that there is definitely mother issues and here Ludlow does not let us down by creating a neurosis producing monster; a nit picking, nagging, negative, perfectionist who is sprinkled with a large dose of mean straight up.
This is just the tip of the iceberg which sends Hazel off to a new boyfriend, Otis who fronts the band Riot Venom. Otis makes the grungy Kree feel squeaky clean in comparison. In nearly every scene involving Otis, the reader often feels like they’re living in the dirtiest of public restrooms complete with the Loch Ness turd poking over the water line. This creates an opportunity for Hazel to leaves her job and her life to go on tour with Riot Venom and in essense to take care of her new love, Otis, on the road. Without spoiling the outcome, Hazel’s life spirals out of control with drugs and germs, piss and puke, as well as sarcasm and suicidal ideologies. What creates a brilliant counter jab in this punch in the face novel is the ability of Ludlow to produce poignant sardonic humor within Hazel, often involving Landon (Otis’s anarchist and loyal brother). The constant banter and one-liners made this a very enjoyable reading experience.
Also of note, for a book that focuses and is mostly set within a band, Ludlow’s experience as a musician really pays off. There are no descriptions of “crisp drum openings” or the “boom-boom-booms” of the bass. This pre-school style musical terms are often found in books where the author has no idea what they are musically talking about or are just bad writers. Ludlow’s novel is about the characters whom happen to play music. This people are believable and real even at their most self-destructive times. In life, we’ve all had friends that have made decisions that lead them down dark roads and if you’ve lived long enough know there is nothing you can do about it. In alt.punk when you recognize this you can make a decision to stop reading but in my case I was glad that I didn’t. I was completely rewarded and entertained by this fun and often tongue in cheek novel. Recommended.
Read
July 28, 2020Will make you want to wash your hands, repeatedly, but in a good way.*
*Same, and yet way more so.
*Same, and yet way more so.
July 3, 2015
When it comes to music and certain forms of art, you can either lift an eyebrow or cheer and grab it off the shelf hoping for some feel good, rock and roll fun. Because there are plenty of books and movies that shout out that same old clichéd "rock and roll and drugs and sex," theme. I'm talking about stuff like Wayne's World or That Thing You Do!. As of yet, I have never read a music related novel that was close to the corniness of those movies. I've actually never seen Wayne's World, but judging by the little snippets of it I've seen on Youtube, it is definitely one of those. Not that they're necessarily bad and should be thrown in a pitch of fire, but sometimes it can get stale for awhile. Watching or reading something in the same branch of themes can get very predictable. So when I came across Alt. Punk, I was kind of expecting the same thing. It has the punk rock, the dysfunctional characters, the edgy humor. But of course, I was wrong, it's so good that I wish I could recommend it to all of my friends and I don't even care if they get grossed out and never want to talk me again for reading such a filthy book.
It's bad to laugh at a person's misery, especially when you can sort of see the same things in yourself. I'm not a germaphobe, but I am indeed a self loather, and I didn't even graduate from college yet. The identity crisis victims are getting younger and younger. I also, unfortunately, produce a lot of saliva in my mouth but not as extreme as Otis, but I did have a few incidents of showering people. The cynicism, the awkwardness, what isn't there to love about the germaphobic main character, Hazel?
In a really weird way, Alt. Punk is a coming of age. But unlike most coming of ages, it doesn't end with a happy note and the main character really doesn't get what she wants, except for one thing, which was her book getting published, but that doesn't even count because someone actually helped her achieve that. Instead she gets a tad bit worse than before. But she does get some revenge in the end. When she gets with Otis and tours with his band, she starts to lose some of her germaphobe tendencies as she falls in love and gives herself away for Otis (As Good As It Gets?) and then soon out of love. When she falls out of love, she actually reverts back to a version of her that is a hundred times worse, but for some odd reason, it seems like she finally accepted that. This is why I thought Alt. Punk was freaking wonderful, it was the least sappiest of coming of ages. It was actually a bit more realistic compared to most, it was a bit too honest, honest enough to feel the burn of the oh so cleansing feeling when you clean a wound with hydrogen peroxide.
Then there's the punk rock music scene. By the time Otis came around, she still loved the punk rock, but didn't really do anything particularly punk, except maybe drink a lot and wallow in her own misery over her job and life in general. So of course this brings in the theme of punk elitism and identity, where you have to really decide on what you want as your identity and what you truly feel like and can't help but feel like. This whole disparity of lifestyle, feelings, and basically the whole self of Hazel rips her away from the unforgiving band of Otis and his brother Landon. They are beyond healing and Hazel seems to recognize that she is indeed broken, much like Otis, but there is nobody out there except herself to fix that.
One thing that I noticed that seems to be uncommon in novels written by female authors, especially in the YA genre, is this belief that a relationship will somehow fix everything, especially if it's with someone whose broken, so two broken people will somehow screw in the loose screws for each other, which is totally unrealistic, but in this case with Alt. Punk, everything got worse. You can also add in the main character's emotionally abusive mother and the family members that support that support the abuse, drugs, her germphobia, an enabler friend with an emotional imbalance, her clueless husband, Kree,that somehow came back more well off than her like a sort of revenge for the break up. Alt. Punk is just really torn up. And despite all of this dirt and grit, Ludlow writes some really some really nice sentences that deserved my dog eared pages and this book was so enjoyable for me that every time I sat down to read it, it was such a fun experience. The characters were so enjoyable and real, quirky and cute, and disgusting all at the same time. It's one of those books to hug, but you might get all the fictional germs of the universe leaked out from the pages onto you.
Rating: 5/5
Originally posted here: http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
It's bad to laugh at a person's misery, especially when you can sort of see the same things in yourself. I'm not a germaphobe, but I am indeed a self loather, and I didn't even graduate from college yet. The identity crisis victims are getting younger and younger. I also, unfortunately, produce a lot of saliva in my mouth but not as extreme as Otis, but I did have a few incidents of showering people. The cynicism, the awkwardness, what isn't there to love about the germaphobic main character, Hazel?
In a really weird way, Alt. Punk is a coming of age. But unlike most coming of ages, it doesn't end with a happy note and the main character really doesn't get what she wants, except for one thing, which was her book getting published, but that doesn't even count because someone actually helped her achieve that. Instead she gets a tad bit worse than before. But she does get some revenge in the end. When she gets with Otis and tours with his band, she starts to lose some of her germaphobe tendencies as she falls in love and gives herself away for Otis (As Good As It Gets?) and then soon out of love. When she falls out of love, she actually reverts back to a version of her that is a hundred times worse, but for some odd reason, it seems like she finally accepted that. This is why I thought Alt. Punk was freaking wonderful, it was the least sappiest of coming of ages. It was actually a bit more realistic compared to most, it was a bit too honest, honest enough to feel the burn of the oh so cleansing feeling when you clean a wound with hydrogen peroxide.
Then there's the punk rock music scene. By the time Otis came around, she still loved the punk rock, but didn't really do anything particularly punk, except maybe drink a lot and wallow in her own misery over her job and life in general. So of course this brings in the theme of punk elitism and identity, where you have to really decide on what you want as your identity and what you truly feel like and can't help but feel like. This whole disparity of lifestyle, feelings, and basically the whole self of Hazel rips her away from the unforgiving band of Otis and his brother Landon. They are beyond healing and Hazel seems to recognize that she is indeed broken, much like Otis, but there is nobody out there except herself to fix that.
One thing that I noticed that seems to be uncommon in novels written by female authors, especially in the YA genre, is this belief that a relationship will somehow fix everything, especially if it's with someone whose broken, so two broken people will somehow screw in the loose screws for each other, which is totally unrealistic, but in this case with Alt. Punk, everything got worse. You can also add in the main character's emotionally abusive mother and the family members that support that support the abuse, drugs, her germphobia, an enabler friend with an emotional imbalance, her clueless husband, Kree,that somehow came back more well off than her like a sort of revenge for the break up. Alt. Punk is just really torn up. And despite all of this dirt and grit, Ludlow writes some really some really nice sentences that deserved my dog eared pages and this book was so enjoyable for me that every time I sat down to read it, it was such a fun experience. The characters were so enjoyable and real, quirky and cute, and disgusting all at the same time. It's one of those books to hug, but you might get all the fictional germs of the universe leaked out from the pages onto you.
Rating: 5/5
Originally posted here: http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
May 9, 2016
alt.punk is edgy, irreverent, hilarious at times and...ultimately, not for me.
Don't get me wrong. Ludlow's writing is unique and spot on. Her presentation of this cast of irrevocably f--ed up characters is brilliant. The premise of a young woman who's psychologically abused by her mother, fed up with her mediocre life and takes a chance on a man who both disgusts and enthralls her was riveting. And as I write this, I'm asking myself why I don't give it another read through? It was, after all, a brilliantly conceived novel.
Here's why: by the time I made it to the halfway point, my mind was so numbed from all the profanity (I mean, every other word...it felt like hanging out with my co-taught/general classes as work), mindless drug use, crass sex talk, etc. What got to me was the eventual lack of levity. It was endurance-challenge reading after that. I felt bogged down in all of the sludge the characters mulled around in. The lack of levity, hope, or slightest chance of redemption for these characters made me a bit punchy. Like, sunlight! Fresh air! PLEASE!!!
That being said, I'd give Ludlow five razor-sharp stars for this startlingly realistic portrayal of brokenness. However, in terms of did I enjoy it is like asking if I enjoy watching puppies get kicked or babies getting beaten. 3 stars for making me laugh in the beginning, before Hazel's complete downward spiral.
Don't get me wrong. Ludlow's writing is unique and spot on. Her presentation of this cast of irrevocably f--ed up characters is brilliant. The premise of a young woman who's psychologically abused by her mother, fed up with her mediocre life and takes a chance on a man who both disgusts and enthralls her was riveting. And as I write this, I'm asking myself why I don't give it another read through? It was, after all, a brilliantly conceived novel.
Here's why: by the time I made it to the halfway point, my mind was so numbed from all the profanity (I mean, every other word...it felt like hanging out with my co-taught/general classes as work), mindless drug use, crass sex talk, etc. What got to me was the eventual lack of levity. It was endurance-challenge reading after that. I felt bogged down in all of the sludge the characters mulled around in. The lack of levity, hope, or slightest chance of redemption for these characters made me a bit punchy. Like, sunlight! Fresh air! PLEASE!!!
That being said, I'd give Ludlow five razor-sharp stars for this startlingly realistic portrayal of brokenness. However, in terms of did I enjoy it is like asking if I enjoy watching puppies get kicked or babies getting beaten. 3 stars for making me laugh in the beginning, before Hazel's complete downward spiral.
December 31, 2011
Reading alt.punk felt like listening to a great song-- the way a unique sound and powerful lyrics can really make you feel something deep. Every free moment I had, I just wanted to pick the book up and immerse myself into Hazel's world. Honestly, it's not easy to stomach everything Hazel thinks or does, but the raw, graphic writing just made it that much more authentic and intriguing. The characters so realistically came to life, I found myself thinking about them during the day, as if they were people I knew. There is something special about Lavinia Ludlow's writing. It's dark, edgy and beautiful, but there remains a quiet optimism between the lines. Even at her lowest moments, I never felt like I could give up on Hazel. I didn't expect a happily-ever-after, but I had the feeling she would make it through the messy times, and maybe even grow a little stronger because of them. Lavinia Ludlow is a storyteller you can trust to take you deep and keep it real. I am a fan and look forward to her next novel. This one will stick with me for a long time.
April 26, 2011
So I finished this book a few days ago, and have been digesting it since then. I suppose it says something when I find myself wanting to alternatively smack Hazel, Otis and Landon in the face, and yet at the same time invite them into my home and make them some soup. While I'm a few years older (and presumably wiser) than Hazel, I found myself nodding along with her, marveling in her thought processes, identifying with the life of retail drudgery and trying to find a place in the world which she feels like she belongs, finally. Jesus, isn't that what we all want? This book will definitely make you squirm (I blame the recent uptick in the amount of times I wash my hands solely on this book) but will also make you laugh out loud, although that could just be my twisted sense of humor.
May 28, 2011
Hysterical. Hair raising. Tumultuous. Endearing. Biting. Earnest. Heart rending. Gritty. Visceral. Just the beginning of words I would use to describe "alt.punk." Hazel is such a problematic and fantastic character that I wanted to shake and root for at the same time. An amazing read that is so tough to put down, especially in the last 100 pages or so, which I read straight through so caught up in her story as it unfolded. I don't want to give any details away because it would take the joy of reading it for yourself away.
It's not an easy read, in the sense that Ludlow does not hold back, she continues to deliver punches throughout the narrative that pack a wallop.
It's not an easy read, in the sense that Ludlow does not hold back, she continues to deliver punches throughout the narrative that pack a wallop.
February 13, 2015
review in notes? where is it blast, um
'm on page 10 of 204 of alt.punk: oh my god ll, your one liners just keep coming hard and fast, it's cracking me up: about having kids....""I've been burdened with this weird phobia that I'll unintentionally torture mine the way my family tortured and continues to torture me, simply out of bitterness and/or resentment. It sounds like some schoolyard massacre waiting to happen, and I;m worried that a lot of innocent people could go down,...."
'm on page 10 of 204 of alt.punk: oh my god ll, your one liners just keep coming hard and fast, it's cracking me up: about having kids....""I've been burdened with this weird phobia that I'll unintentionally torture mine the way my family tortured and continues to torture me, simply out of bitterness and/or resentment. It sounds like some schoolyard massacre waiting to happen, and I;m worried that a lot of innocent people could go down,...."
August 6, 2011
I really liked this novel. I didn't, however like the end at all. It feels like the author got bored and just tried to wrap it up quickly. She took great care in building the main characters from the ground up but then just let the relationships fall apart so quickly and easily. (perhaps that is the point; that people come in and out of our lives so quickly and quietly that in the grand scheme we hardly notice)
February 28, 2011
Read my review at The Nervous Breakdown: http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/rb...
May 4, 2012
Sooo awesome. You need to read this book, people!
May 31, 2011
fantastic--young author with unlimited potential. scary good if you like the dark and freaky stuff.
Read
December 2, 2012loved it
abandoned
July 28, 2014I had a real problem with suspension of disbelief, which led to me abandoning this novel. Hazel is a hypochondriac germophobe, right? So after dumping one slovenly guy, she starts dating (and having unprotected sex with) a truly repulsive guy? He spits, he's covered in acne, and his apartment is a practically condemned hovel, yet I'm supposed to believe this woman who regularly sterilizes the walls of her apartment, has bi-quarterly medical checkups, and uses umpteen different kinds of hand sanitizer willingly has bodily contact with him?
It's a shame. The novel came highly recommended, and I love the music included in the book. It's just not for me.
It's a shame. The novel came highly recommended, and I love the music included in the book. It's just not for me.
October 3, 2011
I won this book on Goodreads Giveaway.
This book showed a lot of promise, but my hopes were quickly extinguished. The main character did not come across as a hypochondriac, and all of the characters in the book just weren't relatable. This wasn't a book that I could finish because I really just got bored with it.
This book showed a lot of promise, but my hopes were quickly extinguished. The main character did not come across as a hypochondriac, and all of the characters in the book just weren't relatable. This wasn't a book that I could finish because I really just got bored with it.
September 1, 2013
More like 2.5 stars, I rounded up. More to come after book club.
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