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How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets
by
Garth Stein (Goodreads Author)
“Funny, bewitching, observant.”—The Oregonian
“Hits all the frets of a powerful story: sharp-witted dialogue, vivid characters, insight into medical challenges and prose that snaps like well-placed plucks of guitar strings. . . . I hold up my lighter and turn it full-flame for [Garth] Stein’s latest work. Encore!”—The Seattle Times
“Compelling.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer...more
“Hits all the frets of a powerful story: sharp-witted dialogue, vivid characters, insight into medical challenges and prose that snaps like well-placed plucks of guitar strings. . . . I hold up my lighter and turn it full-flame for [Garth] Stein’s latest work. Encore!”—The Seattle Times
“Compelling.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
May 1st 2006
by Soho Press
(first published April 1st 2005)
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This is one of my all time favorite books. It was by an unknown author and I just pulled it off the shelf of the library. What a delight to find such a page turner. When his ex girlfriend dies, he ends up with their 14 year old son becoming and instant father in the teen years. Amongst all this, he is dealing with his own family relationships and with his epilepsy. It makes for a very touching read.
Again I loved Stein's writing. This book was really great and had some good messages in it. I loved Evan and really wanted him to be happy and suceed. At times it was a little frustrating not knowing what was going on with him and Tracy's life after she left. It was all kind of too secretive and a little anti-climatic, because you never really find out what exactly happened to Evan or Dean in their childhoods. But I definitely like Garth Stein and will read more of his books, when he writes them...more
Oct 01, 2007
Theresa Mannix
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Northwest fiction lovers
Shelves:
northwestbookshelf
The Pacific Northwest's answer to "About a Boy". At age 30, Evan finds out his old high-school girlfriend has died. He also discovers that her 14-year-old son is his. So, how does this new son fit in with his kind of directionless, very single life? Evan is about to re-launch a once-promising music career in Seattle and he's just started a relationship with a new woman. In addition, he has never been open about his epilepsy. Meanwhile his sullen son Dean is not so keen on this instant father stu...more
How Evan Broke His Head And Other Stories is a melodramatic work; character depth, logical cause and effect, and the meaning of the story are sacrificed for the sake of drama. The characters are constantly at each other's throats. Their dialogue is confusing and convoluted and goes on for pages and pages. The story's premise is interesting, but the execution is poor, leaving the story underdeveloped and muddled.
If you are considering reading this book because you enjoyed The Art Of Racing In The...more
Garth Stein writes vivid stories set in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest that make a local think that if they don't actually know his characters, they must have at least run into them somewhere (at the Croc, maybe, or getting coffee at B&O Espresso, or in the line at Dick's late at night) or have a friend who knows them. How Evan Broke his Head is the story of an amazing guitarist (Evan) who has Epilepsy and reunites with the a son he had with his high school girlfriend after she dies sudde...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Evan Wallace is a 31-year-old frustrated guitar player, still trying to make it big in the Seattle music scene. He's also an epileptic, since a car accident at age 12, who's been treated like damaged goods by his family ever since. His father is a heart surgeon, his brother is a lawyer, and his parents have built a veritable shrine to his brother at their house. And, oh, yeah, he fathered a child with his high school girlfriend back when he was 17, but he's never had any contact with him. Sudden...more
2 likes · like · see review
This book confirmed that I love Garth Stein's books. This story was about a carefree musician who suddenly has to look after his 14 year old son that he has never known. It brings up old family demons and Evan's battle with epilepsy. And it is a bonus that it takes place around Seattle so things are familiar.
Now I am going to look for Stein'sRaven Stole the Moon
Now I am going to look for Stein'sRaven Stole the Moon
This book tells the story of Evan and his 14-year old son Dean, whom he has never met. Evan and Dean reconnect after Dean's mother is killed in an automobile accident. I read this book because I loved The Art of Racing in the Rain. This book is not nearly so enjoyable. I liked the premise that memories are in the minds of the beholders and perception changes among those involved. I also appreciate that epilepsy is something to hide and there is a stigma attached to the disease. Personal experien...more
I jumped into this book fresh off The Art of Racing in the Rain, as I'm sure many others have done. It's a great story with a lot of relationships that break and mend and break again. Although I found the main character, Evan, to be sufficiently likable, his character was not different enough from the main character of "Racing" for me to fully identify with him. This is a situation where the order the books are read affects one's appreciation of them, though it's the reverse of the order of publ...more
*I Would like to Count this book as 2*
I have seen this book in my room for years, but never bothered reading it until this year. I could not put it down, the book was so good I found myself reading it over other things that I could have been doing. I really could relate to the main character of the book, Evan. I felt that he was a real character and a real person, I always felt sorry for how his son, Dean, takes him for a wild roller coaster ride over a ton of different emotional feelings that E...more
I have seen this book in my room for years, but never bothered reading it until this year. I could not put it down, the book was so good I found myself reading it over other things that I could have been doing. I really could relate to the main character of the book, Evan. I felt that he was a real character and a real person, I always felt sorry for how his son, Dean, takes him for a wild roller coaster ride over a ton of different emotional feelings that E...more
It's about a guitar player who learns that a) he has a 14-year-old son and b) the son's mother was killed in a car accident. The protagonist, Evan, has to deal with learning how to be a parent, particularly as his own parents were less than stellar. Meanwhile, his music career may be starting to take off, a new girl enters his life, and he faces a number of other complications -- medical, financial, family, etc.
I enjoyed the book, particularly the characterization. The main characters were well-...more
I enjoyed the book, particularly the characterization. The main characters were well-...more
The story of Evan, an epileptic man, who goes to his ex-girlfriend’s funeral only to learn that he’s the father of her fourteen year old son Dean. Correct me if I’m wrong but that’s a lot to deal with. I read this book while in the midst of two others and while I did not “love” the book, I did find myself continually drawn back to the story and wanting to know what happens next. It’s comfortably written in a way that makes you want to go back to find out what happens next and to see how the char...more
Evan Wallace is a 31 year-old rock star wannabe with epilepsy who lives in Seattle. He knows that he has a son born to his high school girlfriend 14 years earlier but he has never seen him until he attends her funeral (car crash). Hi son's entry into his life starts Evan on a whirlwind of emotions and insight into his own life and relationships with his parents, brother, friends and new girlfriend.
Garth Stein, the author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, digs deep into Evan's emotions and motiva...more
Garth Stein, the author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, digs deep into Evan's emotions and motiva...more
This is an earlier novel by the author of "The Art of Racing in the Rain", a personal and book club favorite. I could see foreshadows of the style and characters which appeared in Racing in the Rain. The narrator, Evan, fluctates between likeable, sympathetic and annoyingly hard to fathom. The readers guide in the back talks about how memories can be different for different people in the same event. I'm not sure I agree, I think Evan was pretty clear about things that happened but just had a har...more
"Evan had a hit single, but that was ten years ago. Thirty-one now, he’s drifting, playing in a local band and teaching middle-aged men to coax music from an electric guitar.
Beset at a young age with a life-threatening form of epilepsy, he’s kept his condition a secret. But his deepest secret is that he got his high school sweetheart pregnant. Then her conservative parents whisked her out of Seattle and out of Evan’s life.
Now, fourteen years later, he experiences unplanned parenthood when he und...more
Beset at a young age with a life-threatening form of epilepsy, he’s kept his condition a secret. But his deepest secret is that he got his high school sweetheart pregnant. Then her conservative parents whisked her out of Seattle and out of Evan’s life.
Now, fourteen years later, he experiences unplanned parenthood when he und...more
One of my favorite books. I like it because it incorporates someone with an affliction, but is also a musician and is dealing with trying to get to know his son that he had just recently learned he'd had.
I initially got this book because it is set in Seattle and was really quite entertained from beginning to end. It's so fun to read a book and actually live where the characters move through the story.
This is a story about what it takes to become a father, building trust, and taking chances with people by telling them the truth. Garth Stein is a wonderful writer. I highly recommend all of his books!
This is the second book by Stein that I've read. It was actually a hard-back, but I couldn't find that on Amazon. The first book I read was Raven Stole the Moon. It was so mesmerizing and great that I decided to read all of his books. How Evan Broke His Head.... is another fabulous book.
At first, it was a little hard to get into. I think it was because it was so different. Different than I; different from other books; I don't know. I have so many books now that I'm torn between choosing. I am so...more
At first, it was a little hard to get into. I think it was because it was so different. Different than I; different from other books; I don't know. I have so many books now that I'm torn between choosing. I am so...more
I would, if possible, rate this one a three-and-half. I figured, coming off of Stein's "The Art of Racing in the Rain," and having a book with my name in the title, things could not go wrong. And while that remained true, things never really went right with this one either. All in all, it was a decent story, it had a few nice passages here and there, but frankly, I am not expecting to remember a lot about this book the farther time moves me away from it.
The other thing that was not my favorite,...more
The other thing that was not my favorite,...more
1 like · like · see review
Evan had a hit single, but that was ten years ago. Thirty-one now, he’s drifting, playing in a local band and teaching middle-aged men to coax music from an electric guitar.
Beset at a young age with a life-threatening form of epilepsy, he’s kept his condition a secret. But his deepest secret is that he got his high school sweetheart pregnant. Then her conservative parents whisked her out of Seattle and out of Evan’s life.
Now, fourteen years later, he experiences unplanned parenthood when he unde...more
Beset at a young age with a life-threatening form of epilepsy, he’s kept his condition a secret. But his deepest secret is that he got his high school sweetheart pregnant. Then her conservative parents whisked her out of Seattle and out of Evan’s life.
Now, fourteen years later, he experiences unplanned parenthood when he unde...more
Stein is clearly aiming for Nick Hornby territory in this novel about thirtysomething musician Evan, who is suddenly required to parent Dean, the teenage son he's never even met, when Dean's mom is killed in an accident. Evan, who suffers from epilepsy, is the lead guitar player in a promising Seattle rock band. As he struggles to integrate his son into his routine, he must also wrestle with unresolved issues, including his fractious relationship with his parents and with his straight-arrrow bro...more
compelling characters, you wanted things to work out for Evan... but, well, you'll have to figure it out for yourself by reading; who could expect to have to come to terms with being a Dad of a 14 year old, when it was thrust upon him at the funeral of the boy's mom!??! That doesn't sound a bit contrived, does it? So, although Evan's son Dean, is stuck in a rough spot... aren't we all -- there were times the sequence of events seemed forced and you almost lose interest, but you really want to se...more
Oct 04, 2007
Art Tirrell
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Shelves:
alltimefavorites
UNUSUAL SUBJECT HITS HARD
Epilepsy has rarely been examined in fiction.
In How Even Broke his Head and Other Stories, Garth Stein puts an end to the silence.
With cool and measured precision, he introduces us to Evan Wallace, epileptic, and then forces us to watch Evan's ever-so-slow drift toward the inevitable seizure. Along the way, somehow, we find ourselves hoping Evan's efforts to ward it off, control his grip on consciousness, will succeed because at stake is the love of his son - a son he'...more
Epilepsy has rarely been examined in fiction.
In How Even Broke his Head and Other Stories, Garth Stein puts an end to the silence.
With cool and measured precision, he introduces us to Evan Wallace, epileptic, and then forces us to watch Evan's ever-so-slow drift toward the inevitable seizure. Along the way, somehow, we find ourselves hoping Evan's efforts to ward it off, control his grip on consciousness, will succeed because at stake is the love of his son - a son he'...more
I like Garth Stein very much; a very fluid, deft writer who captures the varied experiences of normal, believable humans well. This moved with less urgency than Art of Racing in the Rain, but this is in part because the subject required more subtlety. I really felt like this would (handled correctly) make a fabulous cable television series, on a network like HBO or Showtime. Not because it's full of sex and violence, but because Stein takes his humans seriously, with hints of dark humor in place...more
This was an interesting read. I didn't like it as much as THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN but I did like it.
Evan has epilepsy and doesn't handle it very well. He's not sure who to blame for it and all the mess of his life. When his 14 year old son suddenly enters his life, Evan begins to change and grow.
I think Stein did a good job of dealing with the many subjects in the book, but not a great job. The book held my interest throughout, but I can't say it was "amazing". Good read though.
Evan has epilepsy and doesn't handle it very well. He's not sure who to blame for it and all the mess of his life. When his 14 year old son suddenly enters his life, Evan begins to change and grow.
I think Stein did a good job of dealing with the many subjects in the book, but not a great job. The book held my interest throughout, but I can't say it was "amazing". Good read though.
Stein has a talent for creating unique and interesting characters and engaging conflict. The interplay between the protagonist and his son, as well as his own father, is very believable and the conflict keeps you reading. On the off side, there was a lot more profanity than I would prefer, but it was believable in light of the lifestyle of the main character. Not quite the equal to Racing in the Rain, but Stein is a very talented writer.
As I saw someone commented (and I agree) - this book is male character-centric and voiced, but enjoyable for a female as well. Evan, the main character, is very likable. You want him to be happy and forge a relationship with his son. The author does a good job of juggling the various storylines. This is the first Garth Stein book I've read and I enjoyed it. I'm glad I happened to see it on the shelf at the library! It made me want to check out more of his books.
The book is a good read. Brings to light the struggles of epilepsy in adults. I like the voice the authour took, but some of the storyline was unbelieveable to me. Maybe because I would never dream of speaking to my parents the way people in the book did. Overall, it was a quick read. Two days. Many story lines, some I felt were underdeveloped. When I finished reading, I had some questions that I flet were unanswered. If anyone reads this, let me know. Would like to discuss.
PS, this is the auth...more
PS, this is the auth...more
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Garth Stein is the author of three novels: The Art of Racing in the Rain (Harper, 2008); How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets (Soho Press, 2005), which won a 2006 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award, and was a Book Sense Pick in both hardcover and paperback; and Raven Stole the Moon (Pocket, 1998). He has also written a full-length play, Brother Jones, which received its firs...more
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“And it is clear to Evan, now: the difference between what is and what has been done; the present and the past. He sees that what he does and who he is isn't based on the past unless he wants it to be... No. That is the past, which has been seen differently through many different eyes and has become hazy and unclear, like a pond when stirred with a stick. Only the present moment is clear and free from prejudice.”
—
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Sep 11, 2012 04:07pm