Thursday, July 28, 2005
Boomfell by Douglas Hobbie
Top 100 Ranking: 100
Writing Style-8.2
Originality-7.4
Plot-7.9
Literary Merit(whatever that means)-7.4
Overall-8.2
This was another buck-fitty McKay’s special that rocked and is apparently out of print for some reason. The author has a pretty stupid name, maybe he should have come up with a smarter sounding pseudonym than Hobbie.
This is great dicklit. Philip Roth blurbs it, in fact. And it says on the cover that it won some award that I’ve never heard of.
All the classic dicklit/Rothian clichés are there. The main character is a struggling writer, trying to get stuff published, hates teaching English, cheats on his wife, is very competitive with a male friend, feels emasculated, etc., etc. The only thing missing is that he never cheats with a student. I guess that would have been over the top or something (though his 40 year old friend does cheat with a 25 year old).
The main character is Charles Boomfell who I just described. He pretty much gets fired from teaching and gives up writing to become a real estate agent. I wonder if Richard Ford read this before he wrote Independence Day because a lot of the funny things about being a realtor and how sad it must be are contained in this book also.
Boomfell’s friend while he is teaching (the one that he is very competitive with and feels inferior to in many ways) is Eliot Singer who when the book starts he hasn’t seen in roughly seven years.
The book starts out as though it’s going to be about Boomfell feeling inferior to Singer especially when his wife informs him that she and Singer had a year long affair back in the day. But then, Singer calls late one night and he’s out of his head because he’s deeply in love for his 25 year old mistress. And she is refusing to see him again.
The movie revolves mainly around Boomfell though Singer’s relationship to Boomfell and his wife is very important. But strewn throughout the novel are chapters entitled April that are first person narratives written in stream-of-conscious. April is a girl in her early twenties who works for Boomfell’s wife cleaning houses. She tells about the people that she cleans house for and her infatuation for Boomfell’s wife (she’s bisexual). I’m not real sure how April’s story fits in with Boomfell and Singer, but it’s interesting none the less. And Singer is so out of his head crazy that it really keeps you turning the pages to find out what he is going to do next.
The book is brilliantly written. You really feel everyone’s unique depression and lust (April wants Boomfell’s wife, Singer wants his 25 year old mistress, Boomfell starts thinking about his old mistress, the Boomfell’s next door neighbor wants Singer). There’s the obvious contrast between Singer who is full of himself and just takes whatever he wants in life but is driven crazy by his lust and Boomfell who’s essentially given up on his ambitions of being a writer and settled down into family life with kids, a wife of 16 years, and a terribly pathetic job. Which one is better off?
I solidly recommend this book for dicklit fans. Though, don’t get me wrong, April and Boomfell’s wife are solid characters. I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss it for the ladies (Amy started and promptly quit the book, though she didn’t quite get to the more interesting parts involving Singer’s manic depressive episodes).
Writing Style-8.2
Originality-7.4
Plot-7.9
Literary Merit(whatever that means)-7.4
Overall-8.2
This was another buck-fitty McKay’s special that rocked and is apparently out of print for some reason. The author has a pretty stupid name, maybe he should have come up with a smarter sounding pseudonym than Hobbie.
This is great dicklit. Philip Roth blurbs it, in fact. And it says on the cover that it won some award that I’ve never heard of.
All the classic dicklit/Rothian clichés are there. The main character is a struggling writer, trying to get stuff published, hates teaching English, cheats on his wife, is very competitive with a male friend, feels emasculated, etc., etc. The only thing missing is that he never cheats with a student. I guess that would have been over the top or something (though his 40 year old friend does cheat with a 25 year old).
The main character is Charles Boomfell who I just described. He pretty much gets fired from teaching and gives up writing to become a real estate agent. I wonder if Richard Ford read this before he wrote Independence Day because a lot of the funny things about being a realtor and how sad it must be are contained in this book also.
Boomfell’s friend while he is teaching (the one that he is very competitive with and feels inferior to in many ways) is Eliot Singer who when the book starts he hasn’t seen in roughly seven years.
The book starts out as though it’s going to be about Boomfell feeling inferior to Singer especially when his wife informs him that she and Singer had a year long affair back in the day. But then, Singer calls late one night and he’s out of his head because he’s deeply in love for his 25 year old mistress. And she is refusing to see him again.
The movie revolves mainly around Boomfell though Singer’s relationship to Boomfell and his wife is very important. But strewn throughout the novel are chapters entitled April that are first person narratives written in stream-of-conscious. April is a girl in her early twenties who works for Boomfell’s wife cleaning houses. She tells about the people that she cleans house for and her infatuation for Boomfell’s wife (she’s bisexual). I’m not real sure how April’s story fits in with Boomfell and Singer, but it’s interesting none the less. And Singer is so out of his head crazy that it really keeps you turning the pages to find out what he is going to do next.
The book is brilliantly written. You really feel everyone’s unique depression and lust (April wants Boomfell’s wife, Singer wants his 25 year old mistress, Boomfell starts thinking about his old mistress, the Boomfell’s next door neighbor wants Singer). There’s the obvious contrast between Singer who is full of himself and just takes whatever he wants in life but is driven crazy by his lust and Boomfell who’s essentially given up on his ambitions of being a writer and settled down into family life with kids, a wife of 16 years, and a terribly pathetic job. Which one is better off?
I solidly recommend this book for dicklit fans. Though, don’t get me wrong, April and Boomfell’s wife are solid characters. I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss it for the ladies (Amy started and promptly quit the book, though she didn’t quite get to the more interesting parts involving Singer’s manic depressive episodes).
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Hey thanks for posting jason! I believe you are my first poster that is not from within my circle of friends.
When you say, "the day is a good one also", are you recommending another HObbie book entitled "The Day"? If not, what else would you recommend from him? I was really impressed by Boomfell.
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When you say, "the day is a good one also", are you recommending another HObbie book entitled "The Day"? If not, what else would you recommend from him? I was really impressed by Boomfell.
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