The Hereafter Gang

by Neal Barrett Jr.

On a hot summer Texas afternoon, Cindy Nance introduces young Doug Hoover to the two great secrets of life. Doug likes the first secret a lot. The second, that guys grow up and go to work, doesn't appeal to him at all. A series of meaningless marriages and do-nothing jobs prove Cindy was right. Turned off by the present, Doug tries to recapture the joys of his past...Captain Marvel and cinnamon squares, Dr. Pepper and window-peeking fun.

Nothing goes right until Doug meets Sue Jean, the culmination of a lifetime enchantment with mean-eyed Southern girls, his all-time carhop queen. Reality takes a hard right and never slows down. Doug, Sue Jean, and readers who can hang on tight are swept through an indescribable romp that gives new meaning to life, death, and roadside romance.

There are enough bizarre characters here to fill several institutions: Crime czars, proctologists, Western outlaws, dog-fighting aviators and trout-fishing Huns. The Hereafter Gang is a literary accomplishment of rare insight and pure pleasure. Barrett's sense of humor is unexcelled. His ability to stir fantasy and reality into a delightful souffl redefines the term "magic realism".

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

289 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Neal Barrett, Jr. was a writer of fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction. His story "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" was nominated for both the 1988 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1989 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times this 1991 novel reminded me of Scorsese’s wonderfully surreal dark comedy After Hours — in that a man is trapped in a bizarre hellscape filled with wacky/eccentric characters, and the situations he finds himself in get increasingly more bonkers and nonsensical — only if it were written by Joe Lansdale his ownself, and taking place in the south as opposed to NYC. Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman comes to mind as well.

It was a bit too meandering and the style was a lot too stream of consciousness for my tastes, but there was enough humor and drug-addled insanity to make up for it. My main issue was that the main character is a total asshat, which made it difficult to feel any sympathy for his plight, even if he is clever and amusing on occasion. It’s one of those books that I feel will grow on me over time, as the memorably absurd moments — both real and imagined — rise to the forefront of my brain and the many boring bits fade.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has its ups & downs, but Barrett's best, of the few of his that I've read. Here's a bit from Rick Klaw's review, circa 2001:
"Neal Barrett, Jr. is maybe the least acclaimed deserving writer of the 20th century. Sure that may be a bit of hyperbole but not much. For forty-something years, Neal Barrett, Jr. has consistently produced some of the best weird fiction going. And this book is his masterpiece. It's a wonderfully odd book that teaches us that heaven is in Oklahoma."
First ed cover artwork, *much* cooler than on my pb ed: https://www.sfsite.com/grx/mvz/herelg...

Anyway -- I'd been looking for The Hereafter Gang, in used bookstores & various public libraries, off and on, at least since 2002. Thriftbooks! Cost was $3.79 with FREE shipping -- and it's a signed copy! -- in pretty good shape.

The Cindy Nance episode is good, clean teenage-boy wetdream softcore -- gee, why didn't I find a Cindy Nance when I was 12? -- but Our Hero is a slacker, a peeping Tom, a drunkard.... Basically, a sleazeball. So. Might be his masterwork, but it's still a Neal Barrett Jr. book. Weird and kinda creepy. Not for girls! I'm guessing, anyway....

Sample:
"Doug had to choose between a Nehi Orange and a Grapette. An agonizing decision. ... He loved Grapette, but the Nehi Orange was much bigger. Grapette came in tiny little bottles you could finish in two gulps. He knew what he wanted which was two Grapettes. ..."

I grew up in Oklahoma. I was partial to a Nehi root beer, myself, with a little sack of gas-station peanuts (carefully!) poured in. At the Deep Rock gas station across the 4lane from St. Francis, in Stillwater.

Update 11/1/17: Getting close.... I lost the thread when Doug died & went to heaven (in Oklahoma), because he "crossed over standing up", i.e. he *didn't* die, but is nevertheless in the Walhalla of Oklahoma summer, in a little town where everything costs 5c, including a Kashan rug and a new 1932 Cord ragtop. Naturally, Dougie's pretty confused, as was this reader.... But it's coming together, when he meets his high-school dream girl again, the luscious Cully Jean. And Baron von Richthoven, and Billy the Kid. Guest appearances by various Franks, Romans, Visigoths....

So, recommended for Barrett fans and others who like tales of the surreal in Texas and Oklahoma. Sui generis, fer sure. 3.7 stars

Reread, Sept-Oct 2021. I'm liking the book more the second time through... I mean, if you grew up in Oklahoma (as I did), and come across a religious fantasy that posits that, literally, *Heaven is in Oklahoma* -- Well! Partial reread, focusing on the sexy bits (which are very good). All sorts of clever bits. His sweetie, Sue Jean the Carhop Queen, is, well, remarkable. Asleep, she likes to curl up in a Sweetie Nest, working around isolated gravitational Cat Anomalies in the local bedcover-field.... "Why those nipples could sit up and bark!" A fridge full of imported beer, and the finest steaks and ribs anytime he wanted them. A house with all the stuff he wished he'd held on to. Friends up and down every street. Redneck Heaven!

Oh, what else:
Basically, if my little review has caught your attention in the slightest, you should read it. And you should buy a copy. Your library won't have it, and you are going to have to read it at least twice to have a clue what's going on. Trust me on that.
In his obituary, Jonathan Strahan wrote:
"His novel The Hereafter Gang is one of the great novels of the ’90s, a story of love, growing up, crime czars, proctologists, Western outlaws, dog-fighting aviators and trout-fishing Huns. It is a totally essential book." Amen.

I'm pretty sure this is the only book on my Desert Island 100 Best list that I didn't rate 5-stars. It's just, well, too *odd* for that. But still great. Totally essential!

[Frank Errington · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 of 5 Stars. Review copy

Originally published in 1991, Barrett's novel, The Hereafter Gang remains fresh. A bold tour de force, the work is much like an Almond Joy or Mounds candy bar. It's indescribably delicious.

Kudos to David Wilson at Crossroad Press Publishing for getting works like this back to the public via ebooks. Although, I've not been able to sort out who is responsible for the cover of this version, special props to them for capturing the spirit of the book.

The Hereafter Gang is the story of Douglas Hoover and his journey to the other side. Only he doesn't quite realize that's what is happening. His marriage to Erlene is about done and he's had it with his job and he just takes off with his cat, Mousebreath (what a great name for a cat).

There is a stream of consciousness feel to Barrett's storytelling. Having grown up in the Nazarene Church, I found his character Doug's take on the denomination rather intriguing. "He has other word problems linked with religion. He wonders about the Nazarene Church. It seems unlikely they are in any way connected to the Nazis. Still, these are the only two words he knows that begin with these letters." All those years I spent as a Nazarene and that thought never once crossed my mind.

It strikes me that The Hereafter Gang is somewhat like a twisted, bizzarro-world version of one of Garrison Keiller's Tales From Lake Wobegone, filled with gem after gem like this, "Doug had to choose between a Nehi Orange and a Grapette. An agonizing decision. He seldom slept Friday nights before a game. He loved Grapette, but the Nehi Orange was much bigger. Grapette came in tiny little bottles you could finish in two gulps. He knew what he wanted which was two Grapettes. He had more sense than that. His dad would blow a fuse whether the Hoover Wolverines won or not. Jesus Christ, you want two? Why there's kids in Europe'd likely give their left nut for just one. I don't even think they make it you want to know. What do you think of that Greedy Gus? So Doug didn't ask. He got Nehi Orange and hated his father for a week."

If you've read this blog before, you probably know my preference for reading material leans toward horror, but a good read is a good read and The Hereafter Gang is good and much much more. John Clute called it one of the great American novels.

The Hereafter Gang is available from Crossroad Press and Amazon.com.

Strongly recommended.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I have to sum up The Hereafter Gang in one word it would be “nostalgia”. That’s the only way to truly encapsulate what this book is about. On a superficial level this is a story about a man’s death and his journey into the afterlife where he spends his time sorting out his head before he goes back for another round.

But it’s more than that.

Mostly, this is a story about remembering and finding meaning. Doug exists almost as a sort of everyman, and here I’m also going to draw parallels between The Hereafter Gang and Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. If you read and enjoyed Kerouac’s masterpiece then ten to one you’ll *get* what Barrett is up to in The Hereafter Gang. And you’ll understand why I compare Doug with Dean Moriarty.

The pace is slow and the narrative unfolds gradually, matching Doug’s characteristic as a drifter who cuts loose the moment it seems that he’s about to put down roots or commit to a lasting relationship. He intentionally sabotages himself and there’s a degree of irony in the fact that he works so hard to avoid any real work.

The Hereafter Gang was initially classified as a work of science fiction, but in my mind it’s most emphatically a work of literary fiction that flirts with a generous helping of magical realism.

Neal Barrett Jnr. Remembers a lot here. Every scene, every paragraph is rich, dense and textured with an iconic vision of a bygone America – or perhaps an America that only exists in the memories of those who grew up during the first half of the twentieth century.

Though The Hereafter Gang begins conventionally enough, Dough’s recollections of his rejuvenating “soil immersion” quickly clue readers in that things are about to get very strange – and they do.

Doug finds his opposite and guide in Sue Jean – the epitome of innocent yet seductive “cookie” who features prominently as an object of fascination. She is the sum of all the women he has ever loved though there is more to her than meets the eye. Don’t let appearances fool you, in other words.

If you’re looking for a novel that gets to the point quickly, then this one might not be for you. But if you’re in search of a tale that’s like a lazy cat stretching in a square of late-summer sunlight, that’s laden with sensory delight, then The Hereafter Gang will be an absolute treat. Barrett’s writing is pure joy for the thrill of creating vivid imagery that speaks on multiple levels that may leave you hankering after key moments in your own childhood.

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doug Hoover wakes up at 10:35 AM on what he remembers is going to be the best day of his life. He has only two things on his agenda. He will quit his well-paying but thankless advertising job and leave his wife, Erlene. But we wouldn’t have a novel if things didn’t go wrong.

Before he can sit down with his soon to be ex-boss, Doug goes out for drinks with a friend from the office. She slips him some bad drugs, and Doug becomes confused. Still determined to finish his agenda and get out of Dodge – or rather Houston – Doug goes home to pack his essentials and his cat. He finds a note from Erlene and learns that she has jumped the gun on the leaving bit and run off with a televangelist. And getting back to the office to quit his job, well things keep coming up. Like drinking and dope and eating barbeque. Doug finds himself in the finest dive bar he’s ever been in in his life, talking to a cool kid who has this whole “skipping out” thing down to a science. When he leaves, still focused on quitting that job, Doug finds himself on the floor. Doc Holiday and Cole Younger help him up and get him on his way. At worst, he’s had a minor heart event. Perhaps not surprising since Doug is a couple of decades older than he looks. He periodically rejuvenates himself by burrowing into the rich black earth of Waxahatchie, Texas. It literally works wonders.

Since Doug doesn’t have the advantage of having read the title of the novel he stars in, it takes him a good two thirds of the book to catch onto what’s really going on. By that point, my patience with Doug and his creator (Neal Barrett, Jr, not God) was wearing thin. As much fun as the book may be page by page, it is fatally overwritten. Doug’s drug-addled mind tends to wander, and there are enough digressions and so steady a flow of new characters that readers might long for the clean, straightforward narrative of Tristram Shandy. I confess to skimming some towards the end. But even now, writing this months after I read the novel, I find myself wanting to read parts of it again. But please God not the whole thing.

[Laura Noizez_Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abbandonato dopo aver letto più della metà del libro.
E' scritto bene, è uno dei libri preferiti di uno dei miei autori preferiti (Lansdale), ma non fa decisamente per me. Ho odiato il protagonista dalla prima parola all'ultima, l'ho trovato di un maschilismo estremo.
Peccato perchè l'altro libro di questa collana (Black & White) è stata una delle letture più belle del mio 2019.

[William Breen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Doug Hoover trying to escape his mundane present life traveling the past in geography and memory until he crosses the bridge into Oklahoma and the hereafter.

A wonderful re-imagining of the afterlife and reincarnation, looking forward to reading more by Neal Barrett Jr.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neal Barrett, Jr. is an original. In his 40+-year career he’s written everything from science fiction to westerns to romance novels, and every story has his own unique spin to it. But for me, one book stands out above the rest as the funniest, the strangest, the grandest: The Hereafter Gang.

This book was praised to the skies when it came out, and not just by genre reviewers. The Washington Post review called The Hereafter Gang “one of the great American novels.” Of course, no one paid attention, and the book went out of print. I first heard about it while reading Joe R. Lansdale’s Mucho Mojo, when Hap and Leonard wouldn’t stop talking about how great the book was. I started looking for it, and it took me 5 years to track down a reasonably priced copy (The paperback came out a few years later. Bastards.). Was it worth the wait? Damn straight.

This utterly unclassifiable book is one of my all-time favorites. Barrett’s musings on life and the afterlife are entertaining, shocking, and hilarious. How can you go wrong with a guy who looks decades younger than he really is due to periodic immersions in his native soil, a hot-pants-wearing honey named Sue Jean, a gold-chain-wearing, tennis-playing Jesus, and the unique notion that Heaven is in Oklahoma?

[Giovanni Linke Casalucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo libro è un tostapane in cui infilare il cervello.

Parte allucinato quanto basta da far strabuzzare gli occhi pur rimanendo ancorato alla realtà, un cocktail di minimalismo americano e di iperviolenza a fumetti (un mondo tra i due Ellis, Easton e Warren).

Poi però, ma non so dire esattamente quando, ho pensato di essermi distratto un attimo perché non ci stavo capendo più nulla. Ma come, mi dico, stavi scopando una cameriera minorenne, perché ora incontri persone che dovrebbero essere morte?

E allora mi sono ricordato di un passaggio presente all'inizio del libro:

(...) una volta eri un cowboy, ma non ti ricordi quando.

E bon, basta, Barrett Jr. tu e il tuo foreshadow maledetto, mi avete cotto la testa.

E non pensiate che vi abbia regalato uno spoiler di qualche tipo. Le ultime 200 pagine saranno sempre e comunque un grossissimo machecosahoappenaletto? - un poco noiosetto per noi europei perché intriso di americanità e melassa fino alla radice, ma comunque originale. Contento di averlo letto e sopravvissuto il giusto per poterlo testimoniare.

[Brown Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably Barrett's most successful piece of sustained Barrettness. What a wizard he was!

I enjoyed this romp through life and death, fame, humiliation and consolation, and I recommend it to anyone who wants something interesting and different to read.

But keep in mind there are icky bits here about youthful sexuality, which I do not believe are quite mitigated by the ultimate explanation of events which transpire and the nature of the universe depicted herein. You may or may not be able to read around these elements.

I think Barrett works better at novelet length, and recommend to anyone who wants the fruit without the rotten places to read his collected short fiction.

If you enjoy Lafferty or Waldrop, you probably already know Barrett, but in case you don't, give Barrett your attention.

[Iuri Rosselli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nonostante la buona scrittura, "La Banda dell’Altro Mondo" si rivela un guazzabuglio senza senso. La trama è confusa, lo stile vorrebbe essere graffiante ma risulta solo noioso. Il libro sembra il prodotto di una cultura, quella americana, povera e insignificante, con sfumature maschiliste mai davvero ironiche. Non diverte, non sorprende e non arricchisce. Una lettura superflua.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was, um, hm. Weird, to say the least. Started out annoying, then suddenly got more interesting to me about halfway through. Much of it left unresolved, but that's fine too.

[Giamaica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dupalle dottore dupalle

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a review copy of this book. Joe Lansdale gave it a plug on Facebook, asking people to drop the publisher a line to help get this book the attention it deserved. So I dropped them a line and got my copy. This is the first book by Neal Barrett, Jr. that I've read.
So the book starts out a little like 50 Shades of Grey for Men. I say this having not read* 50 Shades of Grey.
But it's what I _imagine_ 50 Shades of Grey would be like, were it told from the point of view of a man.
But (like that's off-putting, for some reason, and for some people it may be), Doug Hoover, the protagonist, has got a great voice. A great, authentic Texan/Oklahoman voice. Now, I've got to warn you, I've only accidentally been to Texas before, and that only on the inside of an airport, a hermetically sealed airport.** So I have no idea if this is a true authentic Texan/Oklahoman voice. But it was to _me_. Doug's having trouble with his wife, Erlene and her unfortunate lineage (though that may only be a part of the problem), and that part of the story, the unraveling marriage, is interesting enough, and understandable enough, given Doug's proclivities, but the journey just sizzles, along the way. In particular I enjoyed the part in chapter 6 in the bar where they start discussing Cherokee Indians and new black Stetson hat. In Kindle terms, and I have no idea what this really means***, it's at location 522 or so.
I loved the little anecdotes like that one, and when a particular habit of Doug's involving the rich Texas soil is revealed as the secret to his youthful glow the story gets even more interesting.
It soars, however, when Doug meets Royce, the young boy at the Hanging Judge Barbecue #7 and stumbles upon James McArthur Dean Hill, the possible cautionary tale, and finally Sue Jean, his perfect little package
I like the history of the Old West and feel like a complete ignoramus compared to the vast knowledge that Neal Barrett, Jr. slops out there without a second thought, along with a good heaping of World War fighter plane battle history, but I enjoyed the quick lessons through osmosis.
I suppose I won't go into the second half of the book for fear of ruining it for you, but it was my favorite part, by far. Barrett captures Doug's disorientation as his life falls just a little bit apart and I love the humor and imagination and tenderness with which he handles the aftermath. The basketball-playing (or obsession with it) and tennis games in the latter half of the book had me laughing out loud.
I hadn't expected much from this book, to be honest, even though the recommendation came from Mr. Lansdale. But, in the end, this was a great read, and I'm glad it's getting new life as an ebook. This is the second zombie ebook I've read this year where an older, out of print book that simply faded away, the first time around gets a second chance (the first being Michael Joyce's amazing "Going the Distance"), and I'm very glad I got the chance.



* I swear.
** I also swear.
*** I really do swear, and I swear that this is the first time I've ever had a book crash on me, when I was reading this on a borrowed Kindle Paperwhite. The future!

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quirky and brilliant and may not appeal to too many readers -- I add this qualifier because I recommended this book for a reading group and most people wondered what substance I was on. Readers of Kinky Friedman or Dan Jenkins would appreciate Barrett's irreverent Texas humor. Readers of Charles Willeford or Hunter Thompson might enjoy this one, as well. I was first introduced to Barrett by a series of supposed-detective mystery novels about his character Wiley Moss. I tore through those great books and wanted more. The Hereafter Gang has elements of noir, and surrealism, and spirituality, and decadence. And the man can write. He barely contains himself. The sprawling nature of this book will put some of you off. But keep reading -- Neal delivers a book that will change the way you think about everyday aspects of life.

[Ckbiffster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm as areligious as you can get, but I sincerely hope that if there is a heaven it be like the one barrett imagines here: a place where all your favorite stuff and people are massed together for your infinite delectation. yes, you're supposed to be spending some of your time preparing for your next incarnation--but there's no pressure; why,jesus himself keeps reassuring the main character that it's all up to him, whenever he feels ready.(for soke mreason this jesus appears in various bold-colored athletic ensembles)
barrett's writing is wild & playful, although it does get a bit repetitious as the book goes on. overall, a really fun read, especially for lusty good ol' boys or afficianados of same.

[George Ibarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what to say about this book except that it's damn good. I've always thought Barrett was one of the more underestimated writers of the last hundred years, and this book proves it.

An existential novel about a man experiencing an end-life crisis in his mid-50s. Doug Hoover is dying, and he embarks on one final hurrah driving from Texas to Oklahoma. Barrett does a lyrical job of blurring the planes of Doug Hoover's existence.

There's a little Doug Hoover in us all, and I think that's why this is such an important book for anyone to read. We all hold on to our childhood memories, even when death approaches.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rollicking good story with dialogue that rivals the best of the Cohen Brother`s movies. You just have to love the lead character & if you`re not enlightened already there`s a good chance you will be by the end of this book. And thanks Neal...I now have an idea why I have a bug up my butt about the advertising biz...

[Lee Thames · Rating 3 out of 5]

I about quit this book half way through. The second-half was much better. Still, for me something was missing. I have other of Mr. Barrett's books on my list and I'll try him again. Mr. Barrett turned some good phrases but I still feel as if this booked needed a little something else.

Of course, that's how Doug felt.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

For forty-something years, Neal Barrett, Jr. has consistently produced some of the best weird fiction going. And this book is his masterpiece. It's a wonderfully odd book that teaches us that heaven is in Oklahoma.

[David Bissell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I have not heard of Neal Barrett jr. Before now. I love this book and will most likely read it again within a year. Will want to read his other books as well. Coincidently I finished this book on the day he died. Hope he is enjoying meeting the chief.

[Lon Prater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked but didn't love. Neat ideas, awesome characters, and incredible control of dreamlike prose. I guess there was not enough plot for me to get the fifth star, even considering it was an almost picaresque plot flowing into one of self discovery.

[Denman G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but the rambling plot got on my nerves after a while. The characters were entertaining, and the scene setting and descriptions were great. Easily 4 stars if it was about 50-100 pages shorter.

[Roberta Strait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind bending.


I read this twice before I understood I wasn't supposed to understand it the first time.
I bought it because Hap ( of Leonard and Hap) was reading it in their second book.

[Robert Faron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry in prose..

Working through the images seemed dreamlike and the pictures of self knowledge kept popping up as the characters moved through the geographical themes. The outcome was a book of knowledge of discovering who you might want to be.

[Midas68 · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bunch of Mumbo Jumbo.

Now I happen to know the guy's a pretty good writer. But this type of Wackiness(which many might find entertaining)is what I call Mumbo Jumbo.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving up, just not doing it for me.

[Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, one of few I wanted to read again as soon as I was done. Well developed characters, richly described locations.