Customer Reviews

Goodnight Steve McQueen: A Novel

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GOOD NIGHT STEVE MCQUEEN by Louise Wener
January 25, 2005


Danny (Steve) McQueen is dreaming of becoming a big music super star in GOOD NIGHT STEVE MCQUEEN, the debut novel by Louise Wener. Danny (as he prefers to be called) is almost 30 and is still working part time at the local video store while he tries to make a go at it in the world of music. His bandmates Vince and Matty are also dreaming of that day when the three of them, as the band DAKOTA, hit it big and make their way to the Top of the Pops.

Danny's girlfriend, Alison, loves him but she's tired of having to support the both of them. She wishes that he would realize that this dream of his is just that, a childish dream, and that he'll never make it big. She gives him an ultimatum, to either make a big effort to score big, or quit music altogether and get a "real" job. She gives him six months to shape up. Danny takes her threat to heart and tells Vince and Matty that they have six months to change their careers for the better, and soon the three of them are plotting and planning their way to the top.

In the mean time, Danny is also working in a "specialty" video store owned by Mr. and Mrs. Kostas, chatting it up with the elderly Sheila, their most loyal customer. Sheila, as well as the other characters in this book, is such a hoot. She's in her 80s, but just loves those martial arts movies. If he's not working, Danny is hanging out with Matty and Vince, either rehearsing or getting drunk. In between the main story line, we learn about Danny's "pathetic" life, told with a humorous twist, as he narrates the story of his start in life (he actually believed his father WAS Steve McQueen), his discovery of music, and how he met the love of his life (Alison).

I found GOOD NIGHT STEVE MCQUEEN to be a surprise winner, and laughed quite a bit as Danny told his tale. Although some American readers may get confused with some of the British dialog, I found myself laughing out loud, and read this one pretty fast. I think that most American readers should be able to get past the British English, and will enjoy this debut effort by Louise Wener. Wener has another book coming out this summer, which I intend to read. This is a new author to watch for!

don't get me wrong, i am a huge sleeper fan and will probably buy all of louise wener's books, but did anyone else notice she begins both "goodnight steve mcqueen" and "the perfect play" with "do you remember the _____?"

huh.

This book was quite reminiscent of High Fidelity: a 20s-something music fan avoids getting a "real" job by working in a video store, resulting in a lack of progress in both his life in general and his relationship with his girlfriend in particular. The main character in question, Steve McQueen--or Danny, as he's more commonly known--is not always likeable, yet you can't help but root for him when he tries to give his nearly-dead music career one last shot. Although I felt frustrated with Danny at times, I enjoyed many of the other characters, including wise Vince, gullible Matty, quirky Kostas, and of course lovable Sheila. In addition, there were definitely some laugh-out-loud moments throughout, and thus I was thoroughly entertained. I would recommend this book, especially to anyone who has ever taken a risk to make their "dream" job a reality.

I work in a bookstore, so I get a lot of advance copies of books, which I often don't get to until yeeeeears later. This was one such book! I just finished it, and liked it enough to log in to Amazon and give it a big thumbs up, otherwise known as stars. It was charming, surprising, relatable, and just a good fun read... which is pretty much what I want these days! Read it, I promise you it's a good book.

Goodnight Steve McQueen is a 2002 novel by British author Louise Wener and it can be described in one word: fabulous. Fans of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity rejoice, this novel, while similar, is every bit as humorous, heartfelt, and fun to read as Hornby's 1995 cult classic.
Wener- stunningly mature with her first novel after fronting British pop band Sleeper in the mid-1990s- uses dry humor like a lethal weapon in this novel about relationships, growing up, and never giving up on our dreams.
The protagonist is Steve "Danny" McQueen, a twenty-nine year old video store clerk with rock star aspirations that he's been harboring since puberty. The events that unfold in the novel are his last effort at stardom, and a thinly veiled message that all men have to grow up sometime.
The story is told through the eyes of Danny, in a way that only a man could tell it. Of course, Wener is a not a man and this further highlights her burgeoning talent. Apart from a sarcastic tone that will induce laughter several times, the real heart of the novel is in the eccentric, yet believable, minor characters. There is Danny's video store boss Kostas, a band mate's art-school girlfriend with a crush, and an older woman with an obsession for kung-fu movies. Throughout the novel Danny is forced to deal with an absent girlfriend, a group of fledgling band mates, and a bad haircut among other things. Danny's problems might seem trivial to some readers, but most will relate to the everyday issues that Danny, and most people everywhere, have to deal with.
Though the heart of the story comes from the supporting cast, the brains are all Danny. Wener does an excellent job of portraying a flawed, yet ultimately good hero in Danny, with his searing one-liners and a few colossal mistakes that he makes.
Readers may wish that the novel could have been longer. At 370 pages it's certainly not an afternoon read, but there are certain times during the novel when Wener skips whole weeks of activities that could have been even enjoyable to read. And while some of the British slang can be a bit hard to follow at times, it adds to the realistic nature of the characters.
Overall, this novel shouldn't be judged as a debut by a pop singer, but rather a near-perfect triumph by a mature author with a bright future. Goodnight Steve McQueen is the rare novel that mixes humor and heart. Though music plays a key role throughout the tale, the novel is really about friends, family, and the little things that culminate to form everyday lives. Even Rob Fleming, the narcissistic hero of Hornby's classic, would be proud.

no one was a bigger sleeper fan than i, so i was quite surprised (and curious) to discover louis wener had written not one, but two novels.

perhaps comparisons to nick hornby are a bit unfair, but they aren't without warrant. both hornby and wener know more than their fair share about music and the music industry. the only difference, of course, is that wener was actually *in* the music industry, while hornby is but an observer (and a very astute one at that).

what wener does well is capture what it's like to live for the dream. danny mcqueen, the erstwhile steve mcqueen, and his pals have slogged it out for ten years trying to make it big in the music industry, with only infrequent and minor success. it's as though they are little boys terrified of making the leap to adulthood and living an 'adult' life. suprisingly, wener does write the novel from the male perspective and while sometimes her observations are little off the mark (at least in my opinion), she by and captures what it's like to be a nearly-thirty-something male. the relationships between the characters, particularly between danny and his best mates Vince and Matty, and between danny and allison are believable and for the most part well-drawn. as a huge music fan, i also giggle at references to kevin rowland, my bloody valentine, the smiths, frank black, and grandaddy. what i also admired about the novel is that the female characters are, by and large, the least likeable. i admire that because wener's playing against type, being a female author. it would have been much easier, i assume, to glamorize the women and villefy the men. thankfully, the opposite is true.

where the novel suffers, in my opinion, is that it's fairly exclusive to its primary audience. while audiophiles will most likely get a lot of laughs and all the musical references and band name-dropping, those outside indie music circles will probably not enjoy it as much as they otherwise would. i would have a hard time recommending this to anyone unfamiliar with the scene. for those who are a bit squeamish, there's an awful lot of language in the novel--not quite as much as 'high fidelity'--but comparable. there are also a lot of references to porn, backstage shenanigans (especially regarding scarface front-man 'ike'), infidelity, etc. it may not bother everyone, but it may bother some.

as a writer wener has a nice breezy style, just like hornby. it doesn't require too much attention and thought, but it's certainly not boring and banal. you most likely won't get the same rapturous joy out of the prose like you with with a kazuo ishiguro or don delillo, but it will certainly make you smile. it's also pretty easy to identify with wener's main protagonists. unfortunately, wener does try a little bit too hard to make the minor characters 'quirky.' sheila, the 80-something, kung-fu movie fanatic is a prime example. how many 80 year old kung-fu fanatics do you know? be that as it may, wener provides enough levity that you don't mind as much as you otherwise would (i.e. when kate cons danny into posing nude for her art class).

wener obviously has talent and i'm hope she'll continue to write novels. i hope that as she progresses as a novelist she'll dig a little bit deeper, draw out her characters a little bit more. in the meantime, 'goodnight, steve mcqueen' is a nice diversion from a night of television or perfect for a weekend on the beach.

This has got to be my least favorite genre of writing, that is, Nick Hornby imitations. Danny works in a rundown video store, how different is that from the record shop from Hornby's HIGH FIDELITY? The difference is, Louise Wener is actually a talented writer and even though she's writing from the perspective of a man, she does a better job of it than Hornby does. I mean, he used to be OK, then he fell in love with himself. Now Louise Wener is the new him.

I wondered about the British artist Steve McQueen and how he felt about having a novel named after him! Then it got me to thinking about the US movie star and how this particular book fit in with the trajectory of his career. At the beginning of Wener's novel, we find out that Danny's mother so idolized her favorite star, Steve McQueen, that she set out to capture any man with that surname so that she could be "Mrs. McQueen." It's stupid, inane and happily isn't representative of the general drift of Wener's writing, which is strongly character-driven, not just propelled by ridiculous "high concepts." It's not as though Danny in later life wants to become an actor like his putative father. The McQueen thing, once introduced, is dropped rapidly, as though Louise realized how silly it was.

From then on in it's a comic triangle of Danny, Alison, versus Danny's dream of becoming a rock star (like Louise Wener herself, who fronted the British pop band Sleeper 15 years ago). And also Danny's low self-image and corresponding bad treatment of longsuffering Alison, who disappears from the book much too early to take a job in Belgium. This leaves the field clear for the avaricious Kate, a glamor type evidently based on received ideas about Kate Moss, who wants to use Danny for her latest boy toy. Since Alison is apparently living happily without him, well, what would you do? Danny's decision, plus a legacy from an accentric elderly friend (one more unlikely development in an otherwise realistic portrait of male crisis), makes the crux of this novel almost as exciting as one of the real Steve McQueen's lesser movies, maybe NEVER SO FEW or THE REIVERS, both of which have their partisans but count me not among them. A happy surprise of a "Nick Lit" variety.

I busted out laughing about thirty or forty times reading Goodnight, Steve McQueen. I even know most English slang. The author's experience in a good-to-great pop band (Sleeper - but they didn't get great reviews and played for starvation wages), supporting grotty talentless bands is more believable than Hornby's take on it - he's ONLY a fan and he knows some musicians, but it's not the same.

I love the tawdry details of Danny and Alison's everyday life - hey, we all have been through the same. Ms. Wener's wit is razor-sharp, cruising the dark underbelly of UK pop/rock music. And the dynamics of the band, Vince, Danny, and Matt are so damned funny but melancoholy. And the various hangers-on ring so true, but a bit exaggerated (hey, it's a novel - not real life).

Goodnight, Steve McQueen should be optioned for a film - but it should not be set in the U.S. (like High Fidelity was - it lessened its impact), or the U.S. version of Coupling (it bombed, but to its credit it had decent cast), or Network television (U.S.) lame attempt at "The Office."

I think Louise Wener is as insightful and wry as Carrie Fisher (Postcards From The Edge, etc.) and wittier and more sarcastic than Nick Hornby, she ranks right up there Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting and Porno - both great black comedy novels).

I think for the movie script, Louise Wener ought to have some major input and she should get paid well.

I really enjoyed The Perfect Play, Louise Wener's second novel, so I decided to check out her first book, Goodnight Steve McQueen. I enjoyed the character of Steve very much (he changes his name to Danny so he doesn't have so much to live up to). The male point of view is convincing and his friends and bandmates, Vince and Matty, are vividly drawn.

The plot revolves around Danny's girlfriend's ultimatum. It's not quite as described on the back cover. Instead of saying she'll dump him if he doesn't break into the music scene in the next 6 months, she says, "I want you to have a real job or a record contract in the next 6 months. Otherwise, we'll see."

Danny's girlfriend is a real pill, and the way she's described as a complete beauty goddess will not endear her to female readers. When he does well at a gig, she tells him he wasn't that good and his record contract won't come to anything anyway. Why does he stay with her, and let her run his life???

The girlfriend was a real deal-breaker for me. I kept hoping they would break up.

Aside from that, the book was humorously written and I enjoyed it.

Throughout this novel, it felt like this author was trying to "do" Nick Hornby. Come on - that's a recipe for disaster and very presumptuous.

So much of the conversations between the men seemed unrealistic. Something tells me that most guys just do not talk about sex and love to that degree with each other.

The ending was long-awaited and not very satisfactory. The most colorful, believable, likeable characters in the story were the minor ones - Sheila and Kostas.

All in all, this book was just okay - not really recommended on any level.