misscalije's review against another edition
5.0
There are many reasons why I connected with this novel. The first is that it takes place in Pocatello, the place I did my undergraduate, and I recognized a few of the places that Rigby visited (Pocatello High, the Rez, and the now burned down Chief Theater). The second is because of Rigby John’s identity as a coming-of-age queer person living in a highly religious, rural area.
SIDE RANT: WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF TOM SPANBAUER BEFORE? Why must all things gay and beautiful about Idaho be kept from me until I leave the state?!? If you see this Mr. Spanbauer, I wanna meet you so bad.
What makes this novel different is its voice: Spanbauer uses repetition, thematic and literal, in a highly effective manner. Short phrases continually pop up, (smoking is praying, in that moment I loved God so much, moments of gesture) and they do work to establish emotion and create tension like I’ve never seen before.
The novel is not neat in its social politics. Racism runs amuck, even is personified in Rigby John’s father (who Rigby uses as a perpetual example of what not to be). Rigby also enters relationships where the age gap can and does incur an imbalance of power, something I’ve been critical of in popular media like Call Me By Your Name. There isn’t really any excuse for that, except for that it was another time, and the characters do address it directly. This is definitely a book that exists in the real, messed up world we live in, and for it to be anything other than what it was would be lying (and therefore breaking the ninth commandment...).
The part of this novel that I felt was most touching was Rigby’s roller coaster of a relationship with his mother. You could see her changes in character, through troubles in death and marriage and religion... She’s trapped in the social jail of the toxic patriarchy, as is Rigby, which I why I think they were able to connect as they did at various times throughout their lives. While Rigby’s father was mostly a stereotypical rough racist patriarch (which didn’t bother me at all), Rigby’s mom had her own heartbreaking arc, showing complexity in every page.
I cried in the break room.
I loved it and Imma give it to my friend.
SIDE RANT: WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF TOM SPANBAUER BEFORE? Why must all things gay and beautiful about Idaho be kept from me until I leave the state?!? If you see this Mr. Spanbauer, I wanna meet you so bad.
What makes this novel different is its voice: Spanbauer uses repetition, thematic and literal, in a highly effective manner. Short phrases continually pop up, (smoking is praying, in that moment I loved God so much, moments of gesture) and they do work to establish emotion and create tension like I’ve never seen before.
The novel is not neat in its social politics. Racism runs amuck, even is personified in Rigby John’s father (who Rigby uses as a perpetual example of what not to be). Rigby also enters relationships where the age gap can and does incur an imbalance of power, something I’ve been critical of in popular media like Call Me By Your Name. There isn’t really any excuse for that, except for that it was another time, and the characters do address it directly. This is definitely a book that exists in the real, messed up world we live in, and for it to be anything other than what it was would be lying (and therefore breaking the ninth commandment...).
The part of this novel that I felt was most touching was Rigby’s roller coaster of a relationship with his mother. You could see her changes in character, through troubles in death and marriage and religion... She’s trapped in the social jail of the toxic patriarchy, as is Rigby, which I why I think they were able to connect as they did at various times throughout their lives. While Rigby’s father was mostly a stereotypical rough racist patriarch (which didn’t bother me at all), Rigby’s mom had her own heartbreaking arc, showing complexity in every page.
I cried in the break room.
I loved it and Imma give it to my friend.
grayxen's review against another edition
4.0
it's hard to put down after "Bless us, O fucking Lord, and these Thy fucking gifts"
but it did get a little holden caufieldy and rambled on a bit at times.
i liked that the main character tells us things most of us wouldn't dare admit. pretty brave considering he's a "spineless ass".
some of my favorite quotes were:
- "She travels the world looking for something inside."
- "Nobody said anything. Each of us stood in a blue tile. Like we were a game of chess, and they were the king and the queen and I was one of those pieces you don't care about"
- "Funny, all those years praying to God, and what gets my ass out of Pocatello is the devil."
- "But what was an hour late compared to a pregnancy? Einstein was so right on with his theory of relativity."
and then when in mid hell breaking loose he stops to steal the rest of the oatmeal cookies LOL. every time something extremely dangerous was going on, the next line was hilarity. i loved it.
i cried every time george said ANYTHING toward the end.
also, the blowjob at the end killed the romantic mood for me, but whatever, i guess teenage hormones gotta get theirs.
and lastly, when he starts repeating the first chapter verbatim toward the end i wondered if he had been reading survivor by chuck palaniuk, lol.
but it did get a little holden caufieldy and rambled on a bit at times.
i liked that the main character tells us things most of us wouldn't dare admit. pretty brave considering he's a "spineless ass".
Spoiler
some of my favorite quotes were:
- "She travels the world looking for something inside."
- "Nobody said anything. Each of us stood in a blue tile. Like we were a game of chess, and they were the king and the queen and I was one of those pieces you don't care about"
- "Funny, all those years praying to God, and what gets my ass out of Pocatello is the devil."
- "But what was an hour late compared to a pregnancy? Einstein was so right on with his theory of relativity."
and then when in mid hell breaking loose he stops to steal the rest of the oatmeal cookies LOL. every time something extremely dangerous was going on, the next line was hilarity. i loved it.
i cried every time george said ANYTHING toward the end.
also, the blowjob at the end killed the romantic mood for me, but whatever, i guess teenage hormones gotta get theirs.
and lastly, when he starts repeating the first chapter verbatim toward the end i wondered if he had been reading survivor by chuck palaniuk, lol.
selmbry's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Car accident, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, and Homophobia
elibobeli's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
suncoyote's review against another edition
3.0
I am always impressed with how frank Tom Spanbauer is in his writing. He doesn't cut the corners when it comes to all the things those rigid Victorians pretended didn't exist about the human body--bowel movements, burps, sex and sweat. I find it really refreshing how wiling he is to build in all these human things into his books. (If you don't like reading about those things, then don't read this book.)
Spanbaeur created some key phrases that were repeated in the story, like a chorus for a song. I found it charming and understood the lyricism of it, but ... I also found myself skipping these repeated phrases and paragraphs. You can breeze through the story much more quickly that way.
Over all, solid work, Tom!
Spanbaeur created some key phrases that were repeated in the story, like a chorus for a song. I found it charming and understood the lyricism of it, but ... I also found myself skipping these repeated phrases and paragraphs. You can breeze through the story much more quickly that way.
Over all, solid work, Tom!
chrisiant's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book. Loved it. Beautifully crafted plot; rich, multi-faceted characters who do unexpected things; poetic yet comfortable prose - I'm going out to the library right now to get more of this man's books and hoping they're half as good.
kscandone28's review against another edition
3.0
I read a lot of mixed reviews about this book. It took me a little while to get into, it got a little repetitive and long winded at times. But then suddenly it opened up and I was flying through it! I feel like the last 100 pages were a huuuuuge drawn out build up to a long-awaited climax, and it was worth the wait! I really enjoyed the ending, too. It wasn't what I'd expected and I like where Spanbauer went with it. I'd like to read more of his books for sure.
While I really liked this book, I probably wouldn't recommend it to my friends, as the content matter isn't suitable to their tastes, mostly. But it was very well written! Almost poetic at times. Very refreshing!
While I really liked this book, I probably wouldn't recommend it to my friends, as the content matter isn't suitable to their tastes, mostly. But it was very well written! Almost poetic at times. Very refreshing!