Tender As Hellfire

by Joe Meno
Tender As Hellfire  
published April 1st 2007 by Akashic Books
binding Paperback
isbn 1933354305   (isbn13: 9781933354309)
pages 220
description

"Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described."<em>-Publishers Week...more

date added
02-21-07



Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Tender As Hellfire.







discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »




friend reviews (0)

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.



lists with this book




other reviews (showing 1-20 of 119)



Marty
Marty rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
12/04/07

Read in August, 2007
I wrote a blurb for this for my job interview, but I don't remember it offhand. The book is about two brothers with damnation in their destiny. Pill and Dough, named thusly by their father in a "Boy Named Sue,"-way to toughen them up, live in Tenderloin. It's a trailer park. The book details (and details) their loss of innocence through fire, sex, abuse, dogfights, robbery, and much more. The devil is chasing these boys who carry the burden of their long gone father around wherever the...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

arphaxad
arphaxad rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
02/25/08

Read in January, 2008
we-ell (always a good way to start a review)...avoiding the easy Salinger comparisons that inevitably arise whenever anyone writes something that isn't terrible featuring a protaganist under the age of eighteen or so, even if the comparison doesn't really fit, the book does capture a bit of that queer confusion surrounding being eleven or twelve. At the same time, the narrator's just a little too precocious for the book to ring true, and the various plotlines never really weave together into a c...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

allison
allison rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/06/08

bookshelves: chicago, fiction, tradition
Read in July, 2008
The Joe Meno 4th of July holiday reading tradition continues for the fourth year in a row! I read the recently rereleased/reedited Akashic Books version of the text, and absolutely loved it. It may compete with Hairstyles of the Damned for my favorite Meno. It's about 10-20 pages too long, but incredibly sensitive and well done in general. It's his best achievement, so far, at marrying the noirish/potboiler form to the sadness and fumbling, precocious wisdom of a bunch of kids straight ou...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Patjones
Patjones rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
10/05/07

If Salinger had written about white trash in middle America rather than middle class in the North East, he may have written something pretty similar to Tender As Hellfire. It is a well told coming of age story as related by the younger of a pair of troubled brothers. The only reason I've given it three stars as opposed to four is I am not sure of it's re-read value.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Ed
Ed rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
08/20/07

Read in August, 2007
For Joe Meno die-hard fans only. Yeah, he was barely in his twenties when he wrote this. And one can certainly see the adolescent sweetness juxtaposed against the rugged underworld to be found in his later books. But this is too clumsy and early a novel to be seriously considered. Read the great later novels instead.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

April
April rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
10/07/07

Read in September, 2007
Now, I know I'm going out on a limb here...but I'm going to say that Joe Meno is a modern day JD Salinger. His books are touching in that "coming of age" way that Catcher In The Rye was for us all. I really love his fiction.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Auriansky
Auriansky rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/20/08

Read in March, 2008
I don't know what it was about this book but i read it one sitting on a lazy tuesday, and then spent the other part of the day flipping back and forth rereading bits and pieces. It grabbed me, and I wasn't expecting it.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Kamilah
Kamilah rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/22/08

Read in April, 2008
This debut novel also has a too neat ending (see review for _The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman_), but its clever, multivalent, simultaneously denotative and connotative title saves it from 3 stars.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Caroline
Caroline rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
01/12/08

Read in January, 2008
Not what I was expecting but good nonetheless. Does a good job of describing the boys however he uses the word "greasy" too much for my taste. Past that it's great.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Mike
Mike rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/05/08

bookshelves: currently-reading
Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2008
I'm slowly getting through the middle in hopes that the "unexpected ending" will make it worth it.

This is the book that inspired the short film I just worked on.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Victoria
Victoria rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
06/01/08

bookshelves: fun-fiction
joe's book came out while i was a student in his class at columbia chicago. he's an amazing instructor and writer.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Julia
Julia rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/15/07

bookshelves: book-club
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for: fans of the author
Better than I expected and full of really striking visual images but a little immature.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Katie
Katie rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
01/28/08

Read in November, 2007
Too many typos and holes to loooove it, but Meno's a lovely story teller...
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

season
season added it
10/21/07

Read in September, 2007
I couldn't get through it.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

severyn
severyn rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
05/17/08

Read in May, 2008
Ech.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Stephen
Stephen rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
11/28/07

 

Maria
Maria marked it as to-read
06/03/08

bookshelves: to-find, to-read
 

Kelley
Kelley marked it as to-read
06/15/08

bookshelves: to-buy, to-read
 

Charles
Charles rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
07/06/08

 


« previous 1 3 4 5 6



book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.46 (80 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.55 (71 ratings)
number of reviews: 15






other editions

Tender as Hellfire: A Novel (Hardcover)