Rating: 
Summary: Tavern Crawling 101
Review: I oughtta love a book whose chapter headings all look like familiar beer bottle labels. And one that says: "He's got that most useless of all college degrees, too: English Literature." But - and it's a big a Lummox- sized butt, although this had a lot of heart, (a kind of flip of the tired "hooker-with-a heart-of-gold," we have a Lummox with the same golden heart - if one takes the time to look further than the beer-belly) the scatologic preoccupation does grow rank. It is suitable for reading in the bathroom because of short segments & obsession w/ defecation. Still, it does have its moments. The "insight" into the male/female dynamic ain't John Gray, but it ain't bad for a Lummox. The author/subject/"cover boy" of this biopic wrote in the 3rd person. He says he never figured out the mystery of the repeated "vandalism" to his Pinto. But a reader of many mysteries can do it!
Rating: 
Summary: Funny? No, Dreary
Review: I picked up Mike Magnuson's book looking for some laughs, and page by page I found myself getting more and more depressed. If it's autobiographical as it claims, I'm really sorry for the guy. I had hoped it might be funny in a Dave Barry, Garrison Keillor or Robert Kirby kind of way. There's just no funny there....
Rating: 
Summary: A Literary 'Phantom' in our Midst
Review: I was sold when I saw his gut ornamented with the 'Champagne of Beers' and read the quote which he introduced the book. I knew I just had to read this book and Lummox is probably the funniest and most insightful book I have ever read about how men evolve. I couldn't put it down. My wife was wondering why I was lauging out loud while I was reading it. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to be fully entertained and gain a perspective on the inner workings of 'guys' - their rough exterior combined with their sensitive & intelligent inner core. His journey though life illustrates the rollercoaster that everyone goes through and how to maintain laughter during the peaks and valleys. I hope that Mike Magnuson gets the recognition he deserves for this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Forget it
Review: If you liked Thomas McGuane's "Nothing But Blue Skies" you should enjoy this book as well, although there is a whole lot less male angst going on this book. Magnuson makes no pretenses about being a modern, civilized, or politically correct man. He writes unabashedly about the deeds and "misdeeds" of a young man, and in the process lends some degree of comfort to men who have done the same or similar piggish things. The scatological humor had me laughing so hard I cried, and ultimately I came away thankful to know there are other guys who should know better but nevertheless, from time to time, indulge in and enjoy the baser side of masculinity.
Rating:
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover
Review: In fairness to Magnusson, I picked this up at a store that specializes in remainders and doesn't always have very clear organization. It was in the fiction section, and I was expecting a novel. Yes, endorsement copy on the dust jacket uses the world 'memoir,' but given the rest of the packaging, and the section of the store, my mind glossed over this detail.
Since the author writes of himself in the third person, at first it's curious that he'd cast a character with his own name, and I was well into it when I realzied the intent was a memoir (albeit with some fictionalizaton and composite characters for the sake of pace and to protect the innocent).
The jacket copy, comparing it to 'A Confederacy of Dunces' and David Sedaris is unfair. It sets up an unrealistically high expectation in the reader, to my mind.
What this reminded me of is Chris Offut's 'The Same River Twice,' which is not an unflattering comparison. And 'Lummox' does the two things I think good writing has to do, make you laugh and break your heart. At a couple of points I was ready to put it down and would come to a point that was hilarious, or a moment of unbelievable tragedy.
And a lot of the details that Magnusson has of his childhood (he's a few years older than me, but I grew up in essentially the same environment), are very well chosen. Husky jeans, for instance, which I hadn't thought about for twenty-five years, were such a pure stigma when I went through grade school, just telling us he wore them tells 50 pages worth of childhood trauma. I had a gradeschool chum who wore Huskies, and the only thing that could have been worse would be if K-Mart had sold a 'Kick Me' line of clothing.
Some of the confessions made fall under Gordon Lisch's rule of writing about the worst thing you've ever done. That's probably the best thing about 'Lummox,' we've all done things we shouldn't have, often with terrible consquence, but not all of us will confess it after a pitcher of beer, much less in print.
But if the cover of the book is misleading, maybe that's part of the point. What ultimately emerges is a portrait of a guy who might project an image being uneducated, lethargic, and insensitive -- an image covering someone who is well educated, an avid cyclist, and has, as Magnusson describes it, 'the heart of a pussy.'
Rating:
Summary: You think you're a writer??
Review: Let me tell you---I am from Eau Claire and know a lot of the characters in the book----He's got it all wrong. Ask Anyone
Rating:
Summary: You think you're a writer??
Review: Let me tell you---I am from Eau Claire and know a lot of the characters in the book----He's got it all wrong. Ask Anyone
Rating:
Summary: BEER GOOD! WOMEN GOOD! STEAK GOOD! LUMMOX GOOD!
Review: Magnuson takes the reader on a fast-paced ride of pure entertainment in his latest book Lummox: The Evolution of a Man. The book starts with Magnuson recalling his younger days of growing up in Wisconsin, and then goes into his time of working at a summer home with some young adult ruffians, and then to his days of living with lesbians while in college. Sounds interesting? It is. Lummox by defintion is an oafish, clumsy person, and Magnuson illustrates that there is more than meets the eye to most of these people whom society frowns upon. There is one thing to say for sure, and that is Lummox will keep you reading and laughing out loud until the end. There are also some serious moments in this story, especially when Magnuson befriends one of the summer home ruffians whom society has also frowned upon because of severe burns he has suffered; and there is also a bit of a love story mixed in, when Magnuson thinks he is in love with a fish that he catches over and over again (this is symbolism of course). At any rate, if you are looking for great entertainment, or just a great book, read this.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Mike Magnuson has tapped into the soul of the everyday man. His memoir speaks what so many of us out there living that life can't which is we are what we are. His prose is easy to read yet fully utilizes every available avenue with which to deliver his message. If you do not enjoy this book, you do not know yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Belief, this is a great book!
Review: O.K. first of all this is a book that you get totally engrossed in and will have to read all at once. Now, this is not for the faint of heart. There is some coarse language and perhaps off putting situations to some, but you cannot find a more honest accounting of actual life, just like it happens every day and then to top it off it is written with such style and hilarity that it is a shame when the book ends. Mr. Magnuson drew me into his story and I never wanted it to end. I laughed so much, and yet there were many important points to ponder. I will now be on the look out for all his work. This is sure to be on my own personal top 10 books of the year list.
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