Bongwater

Rating:
Summary: Shea's Review On BongWater
Review: Bongwater was a wonderful book. Its Tells you how life really is and doesnt hide the facts. It shows how hard life can be at times. I loved the novel. Michael Hornburg is a genius!! ~Shea

Rating:
Summary: real and well observed
Review: I admit that I long ago judged this book by its cover. I remember seeing it in the bookstore years ago and dismissing it for the title and for the Gen-Xy jacket (and I actually liked the cover, from a design perspective, but I thought this book would be just too-too).

Reading it now, years later and well after the scene it depicts is gone, was interesting and I think allowed me to be less cynical about someone trying to tap the times they live in--though that is at least one point of art, isn't it? To reflect on your experience, participate, show evidence that you think, offer up something in return?

The pacing of this book couldn't be quicker. I am a slow reader, so it was a pleasure to slice through something so quickly. I always knew where I was, didn't have to figure out who was where or who was talking, all of that was seamless. It also says a good thing about the writing that just following these people through their aimless paces could absorb me so much.

I liked the beginning very much. The scenes written from the perspective of David are so well observed. The ones with Courtney were as well, but somehow they were less satisfying because I was only able to peek at what made her so simultaneously volatile and vulnerable, and I wanted to be clearer on the reasons why.

Another thing I liked was the realistic malaise of the characters' lives. I think it's an early 20s thing, and I certainly think it was compounded by the late 80s/early 90s recession (about the time period this story takes place), but I remember that just trying to make a go at your life seemed to be something we were all unprepared for back then.

Michael Hornburg captures very well the inertia of having the freedom to do what you want while not knowing what it is you want. Well drawn, too, is the ebbing threshold for failure we experience (this is especially evident with Courtney; she had to get back on the horse so many times). Palpable as well is the real void a lack of love in your life can engender.

I actually didn't buy David's sudden realization at the end that he loved Courtney. I think the foreshadowing for that was only there about 75%, though I realize this is something he's keeping from himself as well. I think one more scene between them where they are actually talking together might have gotten me there...although, it was a nice surprise at the end to see the intimacy that sprung up between them after only having them talk about each other to other people...it became obvious there was some history there.

Hornburg seems to be drawing from experience in writing this novel, and I think that is what makes the writing seem so real to me. I liked it a lot.

Rating:
Summary: A Slacker Classic
Review: I read the book before and usually I read the book after. I'm glad it was the reverse in this case. I've read some reviews here and I can't help but to say that just because a book is short, to the point, and read swiftly, doesn't mean that a lot of love and diligence wasn't put into it. Hornburg is a great writer who only got better with DOWNER'S GROVE and also, I wasn't one bit offended at the use of the word "pussy" when he describes how Courtney was raped and used a douche to clean herself with. In my opinion, Hornburg described the feelings of being raped and conveyed them with a deft compassion...and yes I am a woman. Meanwhile, this story does not necessarily glorify the use of illegal substances as much as it simply paints the portrait of a displaced generation looking for meaning, love and happiness and not finding it very easily.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than the film
Review: I read the book before and usually I read the book after. I'm glad it was the reverse in this case. I've read some reviews here and I can't help but to say that just because a book is short, to the point, and read swiftly, doesn't mean that a lot of love and diligence wasn't put into it. Hornburg is a great writer who only got better with DOWNER'S GROVE and also, I wasn't one bit offended at the use of the word "pussy" when he describes how Courtney was raped and used a douche to clean herself with. In my opinion, Hornburg described the feelings of being raped and conveyed them with a deft compassion...and yes I am a woman. Meanwhile, this story does not necessarily glorify the use of illegal substances as much as it simply paints the portrait of a displaced generation looking for meaning, love and happiness and not finding it very easily.

Rating:
Summary: Good read!
Review: Not only is this book fun, it's very well written. It flows. I almost read it in one night. The key is, it's very realistic about young people's lives and relationships. The sex, the longing for intimacy, the drugs, the ambling through early adulthood.

Read it, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: one of the best books i've read yet!
Review: the book entrapped me and i read it in one night, then my friends saw it and i ended up lending it to about 15 diffrent people who all loved it, and who all finished it in a day because they couldn't put it down. I had an english teacher read the first three pages to the class because of how well written it was. She read it to the class talking about the desciption, etc. (She didn't know what bongwater was.) I can relate and I loved how at the end it wasn't "they lived happily ever after" You know they have a story that goes on, I think it brings more life to the characters. They weren't amazing people, they weren't even entirely buetiful, they were just people. I could relate to the entire book, and I had lost hope that I could find a book like that. So congratulations to Michael Hornburg for being real and writing about normal life.

Rating:
Summary: A Slacker Classic
Review: The laid-back style of writing in BONGWATER really grew on me. The dialogue, descriptions, pacing are all perfect. This is a highly entertaining novel that is split between Portland and the East Village of New York City. Another title for this novel might have been LIFE IN LIMBO. A fun read. A Slacker Classic to be sure! The 1990s revisited. In reading this novel, I was reminded of another very similar novel, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez, which is set in the East Village circa 1990s. Both novels explore the netherworld and lonesomeness of slackerdom and the complexities of romantic attachments in a world too cool to care.

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Summary: Tries too hard, failing repeatedly
Review: This book jumped off the shelf because of the name, so I had to read it. I read it in one day because I couldn't put it down. It was a lot like Reality Bites, but better. If you've ever smoked pot or lived an alternative lifestyle you will relate to this book. I especially related to the character Courtney in this book--the sidekick best friend of a gorgeous girl.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting!
Review: This was a well written, discripive book. I thought that it portrayed the characters well and gave a uniqueness to Micheal Horburg for such an editorial. This fast paced reading is one you can not put down, I couldn't get to the next page qick enough. I did not want the book to end for fear that I would not find another of such quality. As for the book cover, it could not be more perfect. The title drew me into the book and kept an intrested reader in me. I thought that the book should be a best seller and I recomend it to anyone who is up for a real life, real character story of this time.

Rating:
Summary: Is Pot All You Got?
Review: Too many people I know are duped by the idea that THC equals reality. It's just a chemical like any other. Believe me, I'm not against using any drug, but I will say glorification is weak, immature, and a waste. Bongwater, by its mere title alone cries to the baked teenybopper browsing the bookstore who still thinks gettin' high is "cool." Granted, this book offers the life Hornburg knew and it's written smoothly enough; but books deserve substance, thought, and responsibility. Everybody knows the drug path. It's the road most traveled. If you're going to write about it, at least have the courage to paint the entire picture.