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The narrator is a dude's dude; he spends his time shooting at things that are beautiful and having sexual encounters with poorly developed girl characters. The other main points are John Phillips Sousa's marches, and his interactions with a white supremacist writer of smut letters to a long dead Northern Quaker. All in all it's well written, totally ridiculous and a lot of fun.
May 14, keatssycamore rated it it was ok Recommends it for: Young hipsters of a decidedly Southern literary bent. Not really my bag. Some of it is probably that this is a "coming of age" story and, as a man who is forty, I came already.
If misogyny is not your thing, don't read this book. I know there are terrible things that go on this world, but frankly, I don't want to spend my time reading about them and then reading about others' praise of an author writing about them. I've slogged through half the book for a book club that meets in two weeks. I'm going to have a hard time finishing it unless here's a shred of hope the second half is better, as a couple of other reviewers have said.
I have my doubts, but we'll see Sep 11, Jeff Randall rated it really liked it. I am a big fan of Barry Hannah's work. This book is a gem, that few I know have read. If you write or just enjoy great writing it is worth picking up Hannah's short stories or this novel autobiography?
There are moments of pure brilliance and story that keeps giving start to finish. Sad like Dubus there is no more forthcoming from this man. Jun 02, Sean Lovelace rated it really liked it. Really does meander, but the language keeps everything tight. Apr 01, Ron Smith rated it really liked it. I finished this book a week ago, and it's still difficult to get my mind around. I may come back later to change my rating. The nicest thing I can say about Harry Monroe, the protagonist in Barry Hannah's first novel, is that he is a product of his times. The story takes place in the fifties and sixties -- in Louisiana and Mississippi -- a time and place when it must have been more acceptable to be a misogynist.
Harry calls girls "roaches," and I don't think he respected any female in his life. Harry isn't exactly racially enlightened either. He and his buddies drop the n-word regularly, but he's practically a member of the Rainbow Coalition compared to his white supremacist foe. A privileged kid, Harry spends a lot of time in the book wasting his parents' money as he tries to figure out what to do with his life.
Still, Hannah's humorous characters and enjoyable dialogue redeemed this book. Nov 29, Eraserhead rated it it was ok. This has been halfway finished for three years now. The writing is fine, great in places, and the opening brilliantthe main problem is that the book is pushing pages when it should be around There is considerable bloat here, and a lot of scenes that, more or less, tell the same thing.
My attention wanes, even with Mr. Hannah's verbal firecracks going off every page or so. There are scenes in the book that are vivid and beautiful, and scenes that are more or less the same exact thing, only far less effective. The book reminds me of Henry Millerwhere seems perfect and brilliant if you flip to a random page and read the prosethough the narrative as a whole does not pull me in.
Mar 13, Jonathan rated it really liked it Shelves: It took me weeks to read this, I plodded through the first half and then demolished the second half. I'm not from the south, but I have a feeling I should assume that his stories would seem as outlandish as they do accurate.
Hannah tells a thousand stories, plenty of them begin an end in one paragraph, and the protagonist goes through the book like some sort of Don Quixote of the '60s and '70s south. By the time you finish reading this book, you'll think you have an appreciate for marching band It took me weeks to read this, I plodded through the first half and then demolished the second half. By the time you finish reading this book, you'll think you have an appreciate for marching band music, even if you don't, which is a pretty good trick.
Jul 28, George Thomas rated it did not like it. Geronimo Rex is odd but not compelling like Yonder. I really didn't care about the main character and for a coming of age book, that is deadly. The characters continually commit violent or disgusting acts for reasons that escaped me. If the point is that humans are violent, disgusting, and act randomly, well, one can make that point in fewer than pages. Leave this one alone. Read Yonder Stands Your Orphan. May 09, Scott Smith rated it it was amazing. What a great book. If you are a writer, keep a highlighter ready.
There are so many wonderful lines in this book. If you want a primer on how to write in the first person, I dare you to find a better novel than this. Humor, violence, and heart One of my all time favorites. Dec 26, Charles White rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Anyone with a sense of humor. Great book with one of the most dynamic narrators I can remember. Stunning Deep South picaresque.
Feb 12, Chase Dearinger rated it liked it. Would have rated it another star or so but sometimes the misogyny was a bit much. Mar 29, Phil Overeem rated it liked it.
I am sorry, tedious. I gave up on page I wanted to like this book, my first try to read Barry Hannah because I thought I remembered Larry Brown said this was one of his mentors. So anything by a mentor of Larry Brown ought to be good, I reasoned. I found I did not like the main character but was managing to get over not liking the character by somewhat enjoying the writing in the first section of the book. I found many sections humorous. But he lost me when the college years began. I have no idea what the autho I gave up on page I have no idea what the author was trying to do stylistically with the first chapter of the college years, but he lost me.
Yet I persisted because he was a mentor of Larry Brown, one of my favorite writers. I managed to get through the next 4 chapters, but I found myself having to push myself to get on with reading the book, which seemed endless. Then I went to my local book club meeting and decided that there are far too many other books I would rather read than Geronimo Rex and life is too short to read books I do not enjoy.
So, I am stopping and hopefully on to a more satisfying read. This is the most captivating novel I've ever read and I know no other way to put it. Barry Hannah's syntax will leave you in awe; he seems to construct sentences imaginatively, but yet they are intensely raw with their intimacy.
The narrator, Harry Monroe, will draw you in with tales of incendiary trouble making and passionate introspection, from the ever-curious Southeastern region during the 's and 60's. Writing a review of this novel seems almost uncivil because of Geronimo Rex's eminence This is the most captivating novel I've ever read and I know no other way to put it.
Writing a review of this novel seems almost uncivil because of Geronimo Rex's eminence, but hopefully it will inspire someone else to try this one out. You won't regret it. Aug 05, Brendan rated it liked it. The writing in the first third of the novel i. Book 1 was absolutely spectacular and had me highlighting every third sentence while having to restrain myself from highlighting even more.
My horn pulsed fat and skinny. The characters continually commit violent or disgusting acts for reasons that escaped me. It took a long time to read this book but all in all a good read. She Got Up Off the Couch. The self-proclaimed genius Bobby Dove Fleece who barely functions on a normal day and is generally down with some form of swamp flu or malaise from too much contact with the human race. Jones was joked about and sworn at by educators, black and white, all over the parish.
I'd discovered a new favourite author. Then, despite no change in narrator or anything, the writing became suddenly ordinary, the story senseless and boring, and in the ensuing slog to the final page I only highlighted one more sentence and thought multiple times about giving up. May 05, Billy Guy rated it it was amazing. What a great book about Harry Monroe growing up in Louisiana and going threw adolescents in the 50s and 60s and the power that the love of music can bring to you!!
It's a book that does not draw a straight line but meets up at the end!!! Aug 25, PR rated it it was amazing. This was long, and there were parts that were not compelling, but good god, the language here is some of the laugh-out-loud funniest I've ever heard. Pure southern id, by way of like Pynchon. Mar 13, Travis rated it really liked it Shelves: All the way through, grand.
May 17, Mark rated it really liked it. It took a long time to read this book but all in all a good read. Oct 03, J. Grice rated it did not like it Shelves: I don't like to quit on books, but this book went absolutely nowhere fast. I'm just not a big fan of Barry Hannah's writing.
Apr 15, wally rated it really liked it Shelves: This is the 2nd from Hannah, the 1st and only other story I've read: I liked the description of this one, enjoyed the other story I read, have read good things about him, etc etc This one starts out: The Small Things that End the World. A Glimpse of Tiger. Other Arms Reach Out to Me.
Stories From the Blue Moon Cafe. Tales From The Coastal Plain. I Just Hitched in from the Coast. Buryin' Gran and Other Stories. The Winter After This Summer. The Year We Sailed the Sun. Next Door to the Butcher Shop. In A Time of Yellow Roses. Captain Harry 'Mick' Grigsby. Just Paper and Ink. Hard Times in the Country. Yonder Stands Your Orphan. How to write a great review. The review must be at least 50 characters long. The title should be at least 4 characters long. Your display name should be at least 2 characters long. At Kobo, we try to ensure that published reviews do not contain rude or profane language, spoilers, or any of our reviewer's personal information.
Geronimo Rex, Barry Hannah's brilliant first novel, which was nominated for the National Book Award, is full of the rare verve and flawless turns of phrase that. Geronimo Rex - Kindle edition by Barry Hannah. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note.
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