Customer Reviews

Halcyon Daze

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book! I lived in SF during my 20s and found all of the details about SF (where this novel is set) to be so realistic! The heroine, Kalini, is someone that you could really relate to, and during some parts of the novel (such as the strip club scene), I really felt like I was there with her.

This book is one of those books that you don't want to put down so be prepared to read it straight through.

Kalani Smith is living, but life has yet to happen to her. In a moment of hallucinations and panic, she runs out on her wedding, fearing that it will bind her to a life of routine, listless boredom and aimlessness. The only thing left to do is of course, leave, and so begins her journey from Kansas to San Francisco.

Halcyon Daze is the witty and side-splittingly hilarious tale of a thirty-year-old woman who dares to challenge the direction her life has taken by abandoning it and all that is comfortable and familiar, for one she does not know. In return she is rewarded with an adventure filled with experiences like the fantastical Burning Man festival, and characters like Monet, the beautiful psychology PhD student who also moonlights as a stripper. Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone's on a search of their own, to discover just who they are and why.

Written in a prose that is sharp, introspective, sensitive and all at once brilliantly funny and light-hearted, Halcyon Daze is a delightful read bound to make you wonder just what else is out there and whether you have an adventure of your own waiting to happen.

"At first I thought it was another Sex in the City type book, I was very wrong.It was a great book and I was looking for more even after I finished the last
page...encore!"

Halcyon Daze by Palmer Owyoung is a debut novel that "marches to a different drummer", -- just as its twenty-something protagonists do as they seek to find themselves. Halcyon Daze tells of Kalani Smith's adventures as she and those she encounters strive to find meaning in their lives. Halcyon Daze is commended as a superbly written, surreal vision quest, offering paths for future travel and mind-expanding perspectives on life itself along the way.

Kalani Smith struggles to find release from her cocoon-like
existence. Born in Hawaii, of Chinese, Native American and
English descent, she lived briefly in California, and for the
last 23 years has hibernated in Hiawatha, Kansas. Kalani has
always felt displaced in Hiawatha, and has never felt a
connection with the people or the city.

On a day in June, a perfect setting for a wedding, Kalani is
realizing that on her next birthday she will be 30 years old,
that she is bored with her life, and that she has yet to
experience her first orgasm. As she listens to the minister,
she has a surreal moment, a turning point, and she knows it's
time to spread her wings.

Juxtaposed against her tumultuous past, Kalani is bold and
timid as she leaves her groom at the altar and embarks on a
journey she hopes will exploit her dream of becoming a writer.
Searching for stability and a place that feels like home, she
leaves Kansas with no destination in mind. In Arizona she
encounters a Native American woman who shares a Navajo ritual
with her that promises to clear her mind, light her path, and
show her how to find her own truths in the world. Kalani
arrives in San Francisco and joins an eclectic group of
characters; All searching for themselves and trying to make
sense of the world that surrounds them. The author leads them
on a surrealistic adventure in the Nevada desert, hoping
they will find a new perspective on life.

HALCYON DAZE, the freshman novel by Palmer Owyoung is an
offbeat, witty story, told with vivid imagery as he artfully
lets readers wander through the visions in his character's
minds. This book has the freedom and flair reminiscent of the
flower children in the sixties. It is an interesting read.

Reviewed by aNN Brown
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I also grew up as a twenty-something in the Bay Area and the book has evoked a lot of memories for me. I think it asks a lot of the same questions that we all wonder about in life at that age. I remember many times at that age wondering when my life would "start". The author has really captured this feeling and these questions with his characters. I haven't finished the book as of yet but, I have really enjoyed what I have read so far. I am already looking forward to picking up his next novel once it is released.

A page turner. The author makes you laugh and think at the same time. Sometimes you wish you would be as brave as Kalani

Halcyon Daze is an engaging account of a young woman's adventure from her fairly naive and sheltered life in Kansas to her more exotic, exciting, and erotic life in San Francisco. Her new friends include a whacky set of characters that join her in exploring sex and sexuality and, along the way, discover new aspects of themselves. She emerges from her experiences still not completely clear on life's exact purpose and her role in it-who ever is?-but undoubtedly more open to and aware of all that it has to offer. It is an interesting book that may make you blush at times and will definitely make you laugh at loud with its wit and sarcasm. It will captivate you with its characters and their exploits and keep you turning the pages out of curiosity and enjoyment.

I found this book to be funny and fun and very interesting. Loved the poems before each chapter. Colorful characters and some very interesting places. Very creative mind. All in all the book is great.

It is great! Really funny, and because of my sarcastic and strange sense of humor, books that are meant to be funny to me really aren't, but your novel was, I laughed my head off!!!!