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The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas: Stories
by
Davy Rothbart (Goodreads Author)
In The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas, Davy Rothbart's stories grow out of road trips and small towns and are populated by questionable heroes and gold-hearted thugs. Full of loneliness and hope, heartbreak and humor, Rothbart's tales blaze their way from midwestern farm fields to state prisons and border-town brothels. Much like the lost, tossed, and forgotten items Rothb...more
ebook, 176 pages
Published
August 2nd 2005
by Touchstone
(first published 2002)
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While searching for books about Kansas or by Kansas authors I stumbled upon The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas: Stories. It happens to come from the same brain that is behind Found, the website, magazine and book which are dedicated to discarded notes, letters, flyers, photos, lists, and drawings found and sent in by readers.
The stories all carry an impact that often left me feeling uncertain and a little disappointed in the way things always seem to turn out. Is there anything worse than seein...more
The stories all carry an impact that often left me feeling uncertain and a little disappointed in the way things always seem to turn out. Is there anything worse than seein...more
Jan 31, 2008
Rob
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
white boys that think they're channeling Tupac and Kerouac
A decent but not terribly impressive or memorable werk; I think there is a spark of talent buried in there and I hope it matures. This little collection has a few fleeting moments of brilliance but overall doesn't linger with much substance. For every passage that suggests depth and insight, there are two on each side that feel vapid -- heavy on the style, like he's searching for his voice and spends too much time imitating others.
Oh how thankful I am to have heard him on This American Life a few weeks back. Little did I know it he's been contributing for years. Or that he runs a kick-a$$ magazine, FOUND. Or that he's from Ann Arbor, where like him, I went to college.
But then to get him book in the mail (thank you, Amazon prime) and see the following names, all first-rate in their own but incredibly eclectic as a whole side by side: Charles Baxter (love him), Judy Blume (Hello Margaret, are you there?), Ira Glass (total...more
But then to get him book in the mail (thank you, Amazon prime) and see the following names, all first-rate in their own but incredibly eclectic as a whole side by side: Charles Baxter (love him), Judy Blume (Hello Margaret, are you there?), Ira Glass (total...more
As a long time Found mag lover and reader, I was really excited about this collection of short stories. I think that Davy, as much as I think he is interesting and cool, should stick to the magazine. Reading these stories was like listening to the the stories of students in my high school English class when I was in high school. The are amateurish and predictable, and well kind of sound like someone wrote them for a high school assignment - which is ok when you are in high school. I would say ma...more
i want to make love to Davy Rothbart.
that said, only about half the stories in this book are awesome. the rest are kind of silly.
Self-aware and entertaining, the Lone Surfer is a fun collection of short fiction pieces that make compelling, quick reads. Though Rothbart takes on a number of characters in his series of first-person narratives, I couldn't escape the notion that they were all the same person of varying ages and stages. I enjoyed his tales told from the perspectives of predominantly white, urban youths seeking their ways through a challenging and complex world, but can't love a book so limited in its perspectiv...more
I find I enjoy the short story. Davy's collection is diverse and entertaining. I especially liked the story, "Lie Big."
Davy Rothbart is most famously known as the creator of FOUND Magazine and author of the bestselling Found books, but he's also written a short story collection, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas.
The back cover copy reads: "Much like the lost, tossed, and forgotten items Rothbart collected in his acclaimed book, Found, the[se] stories. . .capture the oddity, poetry, and dignity of everyday life."
I think this is where my issues with the collection begin. (To be fair, I didn't hate this collectio...more
The back cover copy reads: "Much like the lost, tossed, and forgotten items Rothbart collected in his acclaimed book, Found, the[se] stories. . .capture the oddity, poetry, and dignity of everyday life."
I think this is where my issues with the collection begin. (To be fair, I didn't hate this collectio...more
This review originally appeared in Clamor Magazine:
We Michiganders are a strange breed. We come from a wilderness that was chewed up and spit out by industry. Every fall, businesses shut down and deer carcasses grow on the roofs of vehicles. We tend to be descended from people who didn't fit in or got kicked out of other places and signed up for some free land up north near the frigid lakesides. Like local native Madonna, we get through long winters by regularly trading in our public identities....more
We Michiganders are a strange breed. We come from a wilderness that was chewed up and spit out by industry. Every fall, businesses shut down and deer carcasses grow on the roofs of vehicles. We tend to be descended from people who didn't fit in or got kicked out of other places and signed up for some free land up north near the frigid lakesides. Like local native Madonna, we get through long winters by regularly trading in our public identities....more
My girlfriend and I saw Davy Rothbart and his brother on the Found tour last year in Wichita, KS. This is where we got the book from. I thought each story had a great seed of potential, but in my opinion, he used generic details to surround the characters and stories-for example, the guy with an eyepatch. The stories were quick to read and I especially enjoyed the title story, which at the show, Davy said it was being made into a movie starring Steve Buscemi. IMDB lists it as "In Development"
Feb 19, 2009
Brandon Will
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
short-stories
This guy writes phenomenal short stories that really hold you. They the have momentum and conflict that remain intense, and gut wrenching emotions that hit home, for me anyway.
I love the way he describes light and weather, and how that effects the story; "the kind of intense cold that cripples all hope." "the room filled with a sad blue dawn."
I love the way he describes light and weather, and how that effects the story; "the kind of intense cold that cripples all hope." "the room filled with a sad blue dawn."
This is a strange book. It is not at all funny, as you might of thought by the rather amusing title. The book is full of heart breaks, but I guess they are real heart breaks. So it has that going for it. You might have a hard time believing that so much awful stuff has happened to one real person, I will leave that to your judgement.
The weirdest thing about the book is how there's no order and no real theme and no plot or point exactly. I think the writer is just trying to tell you about the var...more
The weirdest thing about the book is how there's no order and no real theme and no plot or point exactly. I think the writer is just trying to tell you about the var...more
Rothbart ends with a shout-out, "And most especially -- thanks to you for reading it." You're welcome. Thanks for freaking writing it. It's a gritty love story to life - dirty, hard, beautiful life - full of sentences like: "Her eyes grew darker than brighter then darker again as sad thoughts streamed past like clouds covering and uncovering the sun."
This book came to us accidentally in an Amazon order, which is fitting, since Davey Rothbart is the author of "Found" magazine. I was looking for something to read on the plane, and this short story collection was perfect. His characters' voices are fantastic. Lots of different takes on lonely young people. "Maggie Fever" was my favorite -- it has a surprising twist.
Humorous with just a tinge of desperation and dejection, Rothbart delivers a collection of short stories featuring a cast of everyday small-town characters in all too surreal situations. The opening story, "Lie Big," reads as a convincing memory recalled from a page of a friend's diary where the reader discovers the heartbreaking and hilarious intricacies of a complex friendship. Another notable story, "Maggie Fever," unravels the mundane yet tragic story of a fourteen year old boy left to his o...more
I picked this up because i had been a long time fan of Found magazine, and i was interested in what Davy could do with fiction instead of finds. I ended up really enjoying the stories, and i liked how they weren't overly sentimental, yet so many were truly touching.
There were points in this collection of short stories where the author was very personal, like a friend telling a joke at a party. Other times, it seemed far flung and too hippy dippy. I'm looking forwards to something else by this guy.
Short Stories Great voice. Fresh with strong sense of place from city to country.
Stories were all first person, but not the same "person". The similarity was in the protagonist age and outlook on life--often a bit self-demeaning.
Stories were all first person, but not the same "person". The similarity was in the protagonist age and outlook on life--often a bit self-demeaning.
Rothbart's own personality comes through a bit too pervasively throughout this collection of short stories, but he also speaks to (and for) an under-represented portion of fiction readers (by which I guess I mean...modern 20-somethings?).
Davy Rothbart is one of those authors that, for me, embody the true legacy of modern book writing. He is not caught up in the glam of publishing world cocktail parties, nor is he particularly heralded as a new voice. But his writing is honest without being contrite, and deep without hitting you over the head with how shallow you are. He's also the creator of Found Magazine, another fave of mine. This book is a breeze of a book, and I recommend you get it, read it, and pass it along to your favor...more
Wow. These stories were so bleak and powerful, they hit me right in the chest. As with any series of short stories there were points where the author repeated some themes, but overall this was a series of short stories that riveted my attention (not an easy feat). My only quibble is with the sudden random events that popped up with great frequency in these stories--which I probably wouldn't have noticed if I were only reading one or two, but when you read them all you realize the author relies o...more
Viva Davy!
This is more of a 3 1/2 star book.
Oh, if only goodreads allowed for 1/2 star ratings!
This is more of a 3 1/2 star book.
Oh, if only goodreads allowed for 1/2 star ratings!
Rothbart's weird collection of short stories containing odd characters with sad, sad stories did not appeal to me.
The short stories are very well written. However, the protagonists not always the most likable.
A good collection of short stories...some better than others.
Great short stories from the man behind "FOUND."
Founder of FOUND drops a nice story collection.
I love me some Davey Rothbart!
Jun 13, 2009
Ashley
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories,
read-in-2009
I picked this up at a Half Price Books after finding it on the discount shelf for only a dollar. I thought the cver was interesting, and the title was more than intriguing, so I decided it was probably worth the measly $1.
I enjoyed the majority of the stories- really loved the title story- The Lone Surfer of Montana Kansas as well as Maggie Fever.
I didn't see any other short story collections by Rothbart, but I'll definitely be checking in to Found Magazine after enjoying Lone Surfer so thorough...more
I enjoyed the majority of the stories- really loved the title story- The Lone Surfer of Montana Kansas as well as Maggie Fever.
I didn't see any other short story collections by Rothbart, but I'll definitely be checking in to Found Magazine after enjoying Lone Surfer so thorough...more
Not really my cup of tea. I only found one chapter to be really funny, and that might be because I had been up for over 20 hours and was reading to try to go to sleep - so at that point everything could have been funny. Each chapter is a short story, the stories are odd, don't always make a whole lot of sense and in some ways are just kind of gross.
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Davy Rothbart's magazine Found is dedicated to discarded notes, letters, flyers, photos, lists, and drawings found and sent in by readers. The magazine spawned a best-selling book, Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World, published in April 2004. A second collection was published in May 2006. The magazine is published annually and co-edited by Rothbart's friend Jaso...more
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“My dashed hopes putt-putted bravely to life once more, like a bug that gets stomped on but keeps pulling itself across the floor.”
—
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Sep 13, 2009 08:59pm