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7th out of 9 books
—
3 voters
The Karaoke Singer's Guide to Self-Defense
by
Tim Kinsella
Reunited for a funeral and leery of one another, a family compares splintered memories. Will bathes his grandmother. Mel gives her wig a haircut. Norman is not prepared to take over his father’s club. Jesse has never known how old he is. They each cope with limited options and murky desires. An irreducible collage, as intuitive as it is formal, The Karaoke Singer's Guide t...more
Paperback, 376 pages
Published
September 27th 2011
by Featherproof Books
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This review used to be here, and now it's here:
http://thelitpub.com/im-going-to-go-o...
http://thelitpub.com/im-going-to-go-o...
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When you feel life is a cliché, do you fight back? Tim Kinsella's strange, dream-like debut novel is filled with painfully aware characters, families, and outcasts caught in inherited rhythms of cruelty and ambivalence. Dark secrets lurk when three siblings gather for a funeral: a thoughtful dancer back at her bar, a bitter father working in a toothpaste factory, and a fist-fight addict struggling to keep his nose clean. Across town, a boy is locked up in a delusional man's home. Meanwhile, a te...more
This is a DNF review. A pdf was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
I really wanted to like this book. I really, really did. But I got sixty or seventy pages into it without meeting a single character that I really cared about, and without getting into any part of the story that I could sink my teeth into; the main characters, an estranged family, have gathered together for a funeral--their grandmother's, I think? They all kind of seem like awful people, and not in a compelling way; also,...more
I really wanted to like this book. I really, really did. But I got sixty or seventy pages into it without meeting a single character that I really cared about, and without getting into any part of the story that I could sink my teeth into; the main characters, an estranged family, have gathered together for a funeral--their grandmother's, I think? They all kind of seem like awful people, and not in a compelling way; also,...more
From Flavorwire: "“Tim Kinsella’s The Karaoke Singer’s Guide to Self Defense is a miracle for people who love rich and hefty sentences. It’s a double miracle for those who want their rich and hefty sentences to add up to a dreamy, heavy narrative exploration of a disjointed family and midwestern culture.” —Natalie Edwards, Editor at featherproof books
Jun 15, 2012
Terri
marked it as to-read
Seriously, has anyone read this book who didn't pick it up because Kinsella is a member of a band they like? I am not THAT familiar with his musical projects. I've heard some of them, but haven't been impressed enough to delve very far. This book just looks interesting to me. I wish I could find a review that seemed to take the book strictly on its own merits, with no outside influences. Maybe I'll have to be the one to produce the first such review.
Tim Kinsella is known for singing in cult Chicago bands such as Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owls and Make Believe. How cool it was to come across his debut novel, which I had no prior knowledge of, during a recent visit to Chicago. The characters and events of The Karaoke Singer's Guide to Self-Defense are those of dreams (or perhaps more appropriately, nightmares). It is a novel about being stuck in grime and finding respite from it even in small things. While Kinsella's characters are difficult a...more
I'm a fan of Kinsella's many bands, and I particularly love the witty word play of his lyrics. His prose is just as smart/ peculiar. I just didn't connect with this story. As a new mother, I was disturbed by the late (and slightly sympathetic) introduction of a man who has kidnapped and raped a 6 year old boy, then holds him captive for 9 years.
Others have described this book as funny, but I found it sad. It's probably funny in the way I found Gummo funny in 12th grade, when I didn't think it w...more
Others have described this book as funny, but I found it sad. It's probably funny in the way I found Gummo funny in 12th grade, when I didn't think it w...more
Slow building but worth some effort simply for Kinsella's mastery of language, very dense and lyrical.
I give 5 stars for prose, and 3 stars for seeming to leave it unfinished.
Oct 27, 2011
Kelly
marked it as to-read
is this going to be the worst thing ever? Or the best? Love the cover.
unbelievably tragic and depressing. no thing approaching 'nice' or 'good' happens to any of the characters. i tried to put this novel down no less than three times but was apparently a glutton for punishment. maybe i couldn't believe that was this literally god forsaken town could spawn so many unlikable and unredeemable characters. maybe it it made feel feel better about my own vain 'why me'ness. regardless, the skill of the writer kept drawing me into this pit of blackness.
Mar 19, 2013
Bianca Sarah
marked it as to-read
I bought this book today at the Printer's Row Lit Festival, mainly because Featherproof Books is one of my favorite independent presses in Chicago, and the hipster guy working their table was too attractive to ruin my chances with him by implying that I didn't trust his literary recommendations. I am second guessing this purchase.
On the plus side, it's a terribly attractive book.
On the plus side, it's a terribly attractive book.
An interesting read, though not a strictly successful one. Kinsella was previously famous for other art he did in different media, and it seems like he got this book published on the strength of that art rather than on its own merits.
Read my full review on Curbside Splendor Press' blog: http://www.curbsidesplendor.com/curbs...
Couldn't answer the question, "Why should I bother reading this?" anywhere throughout Kinsella's debut, which turned out to be a perfect example of why I don't read much American fiction anymore. I really should’ve saved my $15 and bought another copy of Joan of Arc’s "Live in Muenster, 2003" instead.
Jun 19, 2013
Lynn Kan
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“That one brown house still had that hole in its garage door splintering like a chewed cookie smile, the hole the exact size and height of the car parked on the driveway in front of it.”
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