Customer Reviews

Crazy Heart

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderful book reeking with authenticity about the hard lives lived in country music before the glitter of CMT. Cobb is a beautiful, spare stylist whose penchant for the truth keeps him from jumping on a glib music business plot and adorning it with with easy ornamentation. He's after something deeper here about tragedy and human limitations. I never could understand why this novel failed to garner a larger following other than the usual vagaries of the book business that sheds non bestselling titles within three weeks. "Crazy Heart," I suspect, is one that is destined to be rediscovered.

It's the 1980's and Bad Blake's glory days as a Country Western star are decades behind him. At 56 he scratches out a living playing one night stands in a series of interchangeable dives. Years of hard living have taken their toll. Bad is overweight, his health is failing and his personal relationships consist mainly of drunken sex with mostly anonymous women that he meets in bars. A reporter for a small local paper interviews Bad after a show in Santa Fe. Bad falls for Jean Craddock and has to consider whether he can make a place in his life for the straightforward woman and her four year old son.

Bad is an interesting character. While he's willing to take the blame for the disintegration of his personal life, he also shows a profound lack of self awareness. He seems genuinely confused when people are unwilling to offer forgiveness for years of neglect or appalling irresponsibility. He's self-centered but basically kind; views his years on the road with fond nostalgia even though he blames the lifestyle for robbing him of his wife and son.

As much as anything else this is a story about alcoholism and the havoc it wreaks on one man's life.

This was a good read - thought provoking, sometimes sad and occasionally even funny. The story felt authentic, almost like a particularly honest autobiography. Early on I felt like I knew where the story was heading but was content to sit back and let the author take me there in his own time. Well done and highly recommended.

There is occasional swearing (including racial slurs) and some mild sexual content.

A beautifully crafted story with a flawed protagonist who grabs your heart. Bad (that's his name) is just that...bad. He's an overweight, alcoholic, womanizing has-been with such heart that you can't help but fall in love with him. Thomas Cobb is an incredible writer. This was his first novel and it's an amazing piece of work.

Bad Blake used to be really popular country-western song writer and guitar picker in his younger years. It has been over five years since Bad Blake put out an album. Now, he still has some fans but mostly he can be seen playing in bowling alleys and cheap motels. Bad Blake is worn out, depressed, and about ready to hang up his hat forever.

Jean Craddock, a reporter from The Sun Scene approaches Bad Blake. She wants to get to know the man behind the name and legend of Bad Blake. Jean and Bad Blake form both a friendship and relationship. Will Bad Blake live up to his name or will he open his heart and let Jean in?

Crazy Heart is the first time I have tried author Thomas Cobb. Crazy Heart is just like a country-western song. It is filled with heart ache, characters you can relate to, long days and even harder nights, and a good story line...combine this all together...you get a engaging and enjoyable novel. I like that in this story, Bad Blake wasn't just portrayed as a washed out singer but someone who was also human and did have flaws but left you cheering for him. If this book wasn't already made into a movie, I would have suggested that it needed to be.

At one time Bad Blake was a country-and-western superstar, but years of alcohol have taken its toll. In his late fifties, his best has long passed. Even his personal life has been a failure with four broken marriages and a son he has not seen in decades.

Bad once got Tommy Sweet gigs, but now the roles have reversed with the young superstar having Blake open for him. Reporter Jean Craddock meets Bad Black for an interview and they are attracted to one another. As they fall in love, her young son Buddy is the impetus for Bad to look up his son. That reunion like his entire life goes bad, but Bad moves on. Alone with Buddy, he loses his girlfriend's son when he stops for a drink, which will cost him much more.

With a nod to A Star Is Born, this is a character study of a self-destructive person who failed to cope with fame and fortune. The slight story line focuses on Bad, whose irresponsible behavior adversely impacts those who care about him, but learn quickly the cost is too high as he drives them away with his out of control actions. Fans will enjoy Thomas Cobb's bittersweet look into a Crazy Heart.

Harriet Klausner

Bad Blake is a country singer and guitar picker who has seen better days: he's on the downside of life. He meets a woman who might be Ms. Right, but can he quit the boozing and rambling long enough to win her? Three guesses. Funny at times and sad, and a truthful look at the minor league country music scene in the boonies, but there aren't too many surprises here, either. A fairly predictable novel.

I had read this book when it first came out way back when. Re-read it before going to see the movie and still loved it just as much. My husband also read it. Very lively scenes, we can see why it made it as a movie. The book's of course better than the film because it is more detailed and crafted so beautifully. We live in Northern New Mexico, so it felt right at home...

Bad Blake was once a big country singer, but now he plays small clubs and bowling alleys just to get by. He has numerous ex-wives and is poor. He also likes to drink his whisky. Thomas Cobb has written a bittersweet look at life on the road for a has-been musician. He pulled me in and made me feel for Bad. CRAZY HEART is heart wrenching and is a skillfully written novel.

For language and sexual content, I would mostly only recommend this to adults. I think after that, it's got a very specific type of person who will like it. I think thos book is for those that like country music, extra sympathetic or empathetic people, those that have ever had alcohol problems. I also think that it will be appreciated by those that know how to appreciate good, honest writing.

What I Have to Say:
Crazy Heart is, essentially, the story of the downfall of the one-time famous country singer, Bad Blake. It is one of the most brutally honest books I have read. Period. Bad Blake, a chain-smoking raging alcoholic who has done a lot of bad in his life, has trouble with relationships, and has suffered more than your average person, comes across as sympathetic and authentic. He's got problems, and his circumstances are not typical, but he's really just a nice guy trying to get by.

I think it is a testament to Thomas Cobb that he was able to turn such a screw-up into an amazingly deep and confused character with whom the readers will ultimately sympathize and possibly even feel sorry for, despite the fact that all of his problems were brought on by himself. There were times when I wanted to reach out and give Bad a hug. And steal all of his alcohol and cigarettes. But then, I would have been afraid that he'd grope me while I was trying to console him. When it comes to most things in life, he tries so hard, but he just doesn't get it.

In a way, this book is like the country songs it is about. It is straightforward and genuine, and there is nothing (or very little) hiding in the cracks or underneath the surface. It is beautiful and twangy and will absolutely break your heart (and leave it up to you to put it back together), but it will have you laughing and loving along the way. And that's why, despite the fact that I only ENJOYED this book while reading it (i.e. I didn't absolutely adore it), I would still go so far as to call this book brilliant. It IS country, and it gives such an honest portrayal of what life on the road must be like, about the drugs and alcohol and women that come along with being a country singer, that it's hard to believe it might not be based on a true story. Bad Blake is not just someone I once read about in a book, he is someone I knew and cared about once upon a time.

Because of the constant drinking and smoking and LANGUAGE, I wouldn't recommend this book to a younger crowd. It is adults only. And even for all its brilliance, I don't think it's for all adults. I can see how some people might have trouble relating to or sympathizing with Bad Blake, despite how solidly Thomas Cobb describes his suffering.
So it's hard to say. I want to say I highly recommend this, because, as I said, I thought it was brilliant, and I really enjoyed it. But if, in the end, you don't sympathize with Bad Blake, you might find it lacking in life.

Like a lot of people, I fell in love with this movie, and Jeff Bridges Portrayal of alcoholic Country wash up Bad Blake. So When I got the book, I was amazed at how unforgiving and unapologetic it is. Bad is the same loveable drunk, but in the book you get more about why he is like he is, and how even when things go rock bottom, Bad decides to just keep living as he always has. Definitely worth a read!