By: Conrad Wesselhoeft
Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt
Pages: 244
Rating: 4 stars
Tags: 2010 Debut, Dead Brother, Music, Guitars, Poetry, Male perspective
Jonathon is a poet, Telly was a guitarist. Jonathon writes, Telly led. Jonathon lives in darkness, Telly was the Sun. Jonathon was a twin, Telly is dead.
My review:
This book is going down as “Book I was most surprised to love.” Wow, I was sure this book was going to around music, but wait, male perspective. Oh, no. What furthered my freak-out about this book was reading an interview Wesselhoeft did on Holly Cupala’s blog where he wrote about how his son, and his son’s friends’ “lingo” gave him a lot of inspiration. Oh, no, I don’t want to be stuck in a boys brain, there are cooties in there, especially at that age!
Turns out, I liked being stuck in a boy’s head, even if I would never touch any of the “thicks” with a ten-foot pole, they were surprisingly awesome characters and a great character-study. The group dynamic was so interesting, the views on being “thick” friends was comical, and endearing; the way they made music leapt into my heart! I considered if I would have dated any of these boys back in high school, I think I would have considered Telly, but then, he’s dead, currently being idolized and can’t speak for himself, or speak at all, maybe that’s why he’s not as ‘icky.’
Jonathon is not a typical guy. He is artistic, a writer, a would-be singer, the guy who lost his dead twin, the guy whose mom has never had it together, they guy who really can rely on his friends. He is a poet, he digs for the meaning in life. My only problem with the book is that he never stopped digging, he never stopped and thought “Maybe I don’t need all the answers” or better yet, “Maybe I don’t know everything yet.” I was expecting David Cosgrove’s (David is the Veteran Jonathon is hired to interview) story to really impact Jonathon; make him see that there are bigger things than one year’s pain and sadness. I really wanted to see the man in Jonathon by the end of the book, but I guess that will happen in book two, when Katie gets her claws into him. Or breaks his heart.
I think fans of The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, and the movie How To Be starring Robert Pattinson might get a kick out of Adios, Nirvana!, I love them both.
Notes on the Names: Jonathon and Telamachus, doesn’t really go, does it? This was bothering me the entire book! I was going mad until I read the scene towards the end where Jonathon explain’s Telly’s name and why he had it, then I cried.
Thoughts on the Cover: Cool cover, testosterone fueled, but still “pretty” for all our feminine bookshelves. It gets funny after you read the book. I read this book through NetGalley and am so looking forward to owning my own copy!
No comments:
Post a Comment