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Hot Springs
Compelling and darkly comic, Hot Springs is the road-trip love story about a young woman who gave up her child for adoption and her quest, five years later, to steal the child back. Vibrant, sexy, and quite possibly crazy, Bernice is determined to reclaim the child she gave up for adoption five years ago. She convinces her boyfriend, Landis, to help carry out her plan, but once the abduction is accomplished, Bernice―whose own mother was given to manic episodes and strange behavior―is plagued with doubts. Will Landis stay with her, given her volatile personality and his own drifter past? Will she and Landis both end up in jail for this crime? And, perhaps most importantly, will she fail at being a mother? Dovetailed with this is the story of the conservative Christian adoptive parents, Tessa and David, and the effect the kidnapping has on their troubled marriage. As Bernice and Landis journey across America, from Colorado Springs to Tucson to Baltimore, Bernice must confront her past and the secrets she has kept.
- GenresFiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
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November 14, 2018Not rating this because i abandoned it. I realized that i just did not give even a fraction of a shit about the characters or the outcome.
July 27, 2024
Read in 2010.
Interesting character study. Not a riveting story.
Interesting character study. Not a riveting story.
May 22, 2017
A tight novel with compelling characters, a plot that surprises at every turn, and fresh imagery. Sexual abuse, mental illness, an ultra-Christian creep and his somewhat more sympathetic wife. There's no agenda here. Just intriguing, complex characters, damaged in the ways we all are, trying to get what they want, or at least figure out what that is.
February 17, 2010
I loved the review of this book, and I thought the opening forty pages or so were excellent. It starts with a great flashback to when a little girl saw her mother walking naked around the neighborhood, followed by an excellent passage of dialogue between them where we see that the mother is delusional, and that the girl is mostly fixated on wanting her to maintain the semblance of normalcy. Then the book cuts to a future in which the girl, now a woman, has kidnapped back the daughter she gave up for adoption and hit the road with her and her boyfriend. Great cut, great setup, and again the dialogue was edgy and weird and intriguing. I loved the same scene that the review I read mentioned, where the two of them go to a supermarket to buy hair dye and ice cream, and the woman gets in a heated fight with another patron, telling her to shove a can of soda up her ass. My problem with the book was when it kept splintering into different points of view, many of them less compelling than the kidnapper, and the story seemed to evade the promise of its beginning. On the one hand, yes, I was glad that this wasn't a simple thriller, which a story with this beginning coule have ended up being, or a simple Lifetime style heartwarmer where the kidnapper learns the hard way what it truly is to be a mother--that it's not just bearing a child--yadda yadda. It's a stranger book than either of these. At first it reminded me of early Joy Williams. But I started to get annoyed when every single character acted against my expectations. Okay, the kidnapper can be unhinged, and her boyfriend can be blinded by his affection. But I didn't buy that the girl's adoptive mother wouldn't call the police or immediately pursue her after she was taken, and moving into her point of view didn't really illuminate that for me. I feel like this would have been a stronger novel if it had followed fewer characters and more closely. By the end, I'm sad to say, I was skimming just to finish in case there was a great pay-off.
April 18, 2010
Saw author reading
ARC from publisher
When I attended the CityLit Festival in Baltimore a few months back, I was lucky enough to attend Michael Kimball's 510 Readings. At that session, I listened as Geoffery Becker read the prologue to Hot Springs, which released in February 2010 under Tin House Books.
The book opens as a flashback in which we are introduced to a young Bernice, who obsesses over the mental stability of her mother. There's a pretty curious incident in which her mother dons running shoes, and literally nothing else, and proceeds to jog around her neighborhood block.
Fast forward quite a few years to Bernice as an adult, kidnapping Emily, the 5 year old daughter she had given up for adoption. And all the chaos and craziness that follows them across the country.
Becker did a great job of fleshing out Bernice, who is obviously unstable (like her mother), and though I am unsure what caused Bernice to decide to steal her daughter from the couple that Bernice willingly released her to, I was hooked and had to know how the story would end.
It was an interesting roller coaster of a ride. I found very little to like in any of the characters, yet, like a train wreck or a car crash, I simply could not avert my eyes. Bernice and her boyfriend were the epitome of unhealthy relationships. Emily was the strangest 5 year old child I have ever known ( read about ). And Emily's adoptive parents were certainly cringe-worthy in their own special ways.
Yet Becker managed to balance them against each other, and pulled off an amazing novel that demonstrates what it's like to fight for what you want and force yourself to finally let go.
A huge thank you to Tin House Books for sending me this novel upon my request.
ARC from publisher
When I attended the CityLit Festival in Baltimore a few months back, I was lucky enough to attend Michael Kimball's 510 Readings. At that session, I listened as Geoffery Becker read the prologue to Hot Springs, which released in February 2010 under Tin House Books.
The book opens as a flashback in which we are introduced to a young Bernice, who obsesses over the mental stability of her mother. There's a pretty curious incident in which her mother dons running shoes, and literally nothing else, and proceeds to jog around her neighborhood block.
Fast forward quite a few years to Bernice as an adult, kidnapping Emily, the 5 year old daughter she had given up for adoption. And all the chaos and craziness that follows them across the country.
Becker did a great job of fleshing out Bernice, who is obviously unstable (like her mother), and though I am unsure what caused Bernice to decide to steal her daughter from the couple that Bernice willingly released her to, I was hooked and had to know how the story would end.
It was an interesting roller coaster of a ride. I found very little to like in any of the characters, yet, like a train wreck or a car crash, I simply could not avert my eyes. Bernice and her boyfriend were the epitome of unhealthy relationships. Emily was the strangest 5 year old child I have ever known ( read about ). And Emily's adoptive parents were certainly cringe-worthy in their own special ways.
Yet Becker managed to balance them against each other, and pulled off an amazing novel that demonstrates what it's like to fight for what you want and force yourself to finally let go.
A huge thank you to Tin House Books for sending me this novel upon my request.
April 21, 2010
A strong 4.
Quirky characters (including a child) take off on a hasty road trip, which certainly made me think of The Flying Troutmans, as well as Little Miss Sunshine.
Contrary to some other opinions, I think the author does a very good job of making the major characters feel real, thus making the reader interested in what will happen to them, flawed as they are.
Maybe the plot isn't totally believable, relying on too much coincidence to move things along. And we don't get fully into the mind of the adoptive mother right away, so it's hard to understand why she didn't go right to the police, but I think that gives us a clue to her character; she knew what had happened, and was practicing what she preached and believed. Of course, this is set in contrast to her hypocritical husband, who like some other lesser characters was more one dimensional. It would have taken many pages and subplots to bring them out more, and that might have detracted from the main story.
Quirky characters (including a child) take off on a hasty road trip, which certainly made me think of The Flying Troutmans, as well as Little Miss Sunshine.
Contrary to some other opinions, I think the author does a very good job of making the major characters feel real, thus making the reader interested in what will happen to them, flawed as they are.
Maybe the plot isn't totally believable, relying on too much coincidence to move things along. And we don't get fully into the mind of the adoptive mother right away, so it's hard to understand why she didn't go right to the police, but I think that gives us a clue to her character; she knew what had happened, and was practicing what she preached and believed. Of course, this is set in contrast to her hypocritical husband, who like some other lesser characters was more one dimensional. It would have taken many pages and subplots to bring them out more, and that might have detracted from the main story.
January 2, 2011
This book wasn't terrible...definitely not amazing either. It was entertaining enough that I didn't stop half way through because of how stupid some aspects to it were. The story is about a young mother who returns to the home of the daughter who she gave up for adoption five years previous, and abducts her. All of the characters in the books respond to the abduction in a way one would never expect, making the story seem a tad ludicrous, and surreal. An absurd coincidence that happens midway through the book provides the bridge for the adoptive mom in finding her daughter...but the coincidence is so ridiculous that the book kind of lost a lot of its strength and promise from that point on...
I wouldn't entirely recommend it, but then again, it is not the worst book in the world. The author is a good writer, just not so good in formulating a believable plot.
I wouldn't entirely recommend it, but then again, it is not the worst book in the world. The author is a good writer, just not so good in formulating a believable plot.
August 4, 2010
I love Tin House Publishing, because it seems that all of their books are fantastic and I have been introduced to so many really good authors. Geoffrey Becker and his novel “Hot Springs” is no exception. I plowed through this book in a little over a day, finding it impossible to put down.
It is the story of Bernice, who decides to abduct the daughter that she gave up for adoption five years earlier. The story has many damaged characters and Becker has a way of making them all seem very real and very sympathetic. I bought into the story entirely and I loved Becker’s writing style. It’s a bit off beat and he doesn’t waste words. I can’t wait to read some of his other novels.
It is the story of Bernice, who decides to abduct the daughter that she gave up for adoption five years earlier. The story has many damaged characters and Becker has a way of making them all seem very real and very sympathetic. I bought into the story entirely and I loved Becker’s writing style. It’s a bit off beat and he doesn’t waste words. I can’t wait to read some of his other novels.
February 21, 2010
A mother kidnaps the daughter she gave up for adoption, and tears across country in a crappy car. Should have tension, yes? The mother is not pursued. Her kid doesn't miss her foster parents or the life she's known (except for Jesus.) I made it as far as p 122 without encountering a single consequence. To make matters worse, the clean cut author is clearly slumming it; he can barely imagine poverty, or want, or making it through life on a limited vocabulary—any of the tensions that could make this story or its characters compelling. Bummer.
January 7, 2011
Mentally unstable woman and indecisive boyfriend kidnaps the daughter she gave up for adoption years ago and travels cross country in an attempt to elude capture. The Christian couple whom she steals her daughter from know who the culprit is, but do not pursue her. Everyone's problems are brought to the surface. It's a short read. The author uses his characters as mouthpieces for his life views sometimes, but not in a bad way. Most of his observations are insightful. Not a particularly thrilling book, but not terrible either.
January 31, 2010
It was an interesting book with interesting characters, but it just wasn't my kind of book.
Bernice kidnaps her the child she gave up five years before. Landis, her boyfriend is also along for the ride. Bernice is a bit crazy and wants to be a mom and a better mom than she had.
We also follow the struggle of Tessa and David, the couple that has now lost their child.
The ending was satisfying but weird and it was really hard to keep reading since it was such a sensitive topic.
Bernice kidnaps her the child she gave up five years before. Landis, her boyfriend is also along for the ride. Bernice is a bit crazy and wants to be a mom and a better mom than she had.
We also follow the struggle of Tessa and David, the couple that has now lost their child.
The ending was satisfying but weird and it was really hard to keep reading since it was such a sensitive topic.
June 21, 2010
Tin House is releasing some great work in recent years and this one is sure to be loved by anyone who finds it. Bernice is determined to find the child she gave up for adoption years ago. She brings along, briefly, her boyfriend Landis and ventures on the road to find them a new life. Things don't immediately go their way and what ensues is a stunning tour de force of Becker's language and maternal instincts. Try and find this book in your local independent bookstore.
March 6, 2011
There was something about this book that I really didn't like. It started off being so offbeat and funny but there was something about the way it was written that turned me off about 100 pages in. The main character steals the child she gave up for adoption. While the premise was interesting, the writing itself was kind of clunky and difficult to get through. Having read others reviews,I agree with the majority, not a great book.
February 1, 2010
Sometimes life is not as it seems. Bernice is a lovable character damaged by life and so are her friends and lil girl. I'm really enjoying reading this book I won on goodreads and I'm glad I did. I really like this one. Thanks TinHouseBook :)
April 1, 2010
This story seemed a bit unusual to me. The characters were interesting, yet frustrating. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to wrap it all up, but I liked the ending. It seemed the right way for things to end. I enjoyed the story, but I’m not sure who I would recommend it to.
April 3, 2010
Grossly exaggerated ratings on Amazon. Weird story of a mother on the lam, who kidnaps the daughter she put up for adoption. Skip it.
April 19, 2010
You cannot trust/dislike/like anyone in this story. That is why it is so great!
April 23, 2010
First novel that starts off in a promising manner with well written quirky characters, gets a bit lost and sluggish in the middle, but regains its footing in order to end in a satisfying manner.
April 27, 2010
Excellent character writing. Good story, and he knows how to end a book.
May 29, 2010
The choice of fonts and font size make reading this book almost impossible for me -
June 15, 2010
people make mistakes, then sometimes use up the rest of their life trying to fix that one thing.
June 26, 2010
Really enjoyed it. Not sure I was impressed with the ending- I wanted more...
July 31, 2011
I kept trying to figure out if I liked any of the admittedly fascinating characters in this book, and eventually concluded not, but that didn't matter because the story was so crazy & free-form.
July 15, 2013
The mood of this book, Baltimore, style, will stick with me for a long time.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews