Customer Reviews

The Locklear Letters

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On a whim last summer, I attended a book signing and reading for The Locklear Letters at my local bookstore. The author read letters from the book and took questions. He was witty, charming, very unassuming and thoroughly entertained the audience. The letters were hilarious and, of course, I, as everyone else there, purchased a copy of the book on the spot. I then proceeded to read the book in one sitting, laughing out loud repeatedly. Since then, I have purchased many copies for friends and family....it really does make the perfect gift. I look forward to seeing more of Michael Kun's great wit and talented work in the future and was happy to learn from amazon.com that he has a new book coming out this summer.

We've all met someone like the protagonist, Sid Straw. Kind, nice, maybe a little too full of himself. It's easy to overlook him, and to think that he embellishes his accomplishments and imagines his friendships with celebrities, like HEATHER LOCKLEAR! It's also easy to join the crowd and kick someone when they're down. All of that happens to Sid in this book, until he takes charge of his life, and guess what, he's not a "loser" anymore. It's hard to find a short, easy to read, funny book that can be enjoyed by all ages. Thanks, Michael Kun, for writing a book I could share with my kids, and that they enjoyed as much as I did.

Is there any precedent for this: a writer puts out a phenomenal first novel, disappears for ten years, then returns with a new novel that is so completely different than -- yet every bit as good as -- that first novel? The Locklear Letters is the funniest, most wonderful book I've read in a long, long time. There's not another book quite like it because Kun has put together a book that you literally cannot put down. It is impossible to just read one of Sid Straw's letters without needing to read the next one, then the one after that, and so on, and so on. But that's only part of the magic of this book. You think you're reading a comedy about a character you don't care about, and before you know it you realize that Kun has tricked you not only into caring about the main character, but into dealing with some very weighty issues like love, loneliness, work, celebrity, sex, sports and lawyers. It's a funny, yet poignant commentary on EVERYTHING. This is the book everyone will be reading on the beach this summer. Or it should be.

A rare book comes along that makes you laugh out loud. An even rarer book comes along that makes you laugh out loud and provides a creative, quality literary read, with an inspired plot to boot! The Locklear Letters is all of this! Indeed, Michael Kun has ingeniously created a sub-genre, using one man's quotidien correspondence as the vehicle to expose his unraveling life and his deepest internal struggles. It is a blast of a read, and an inventive book that you will want to re-read immediately to enjoy all of its different layers and to spend more time with its endearing protagonist, Sid Straw. I encourage all lovers of creative new fiction to read The Locklear Letters.

With all the recent attempts to make celebrities seem approachable and just like ordinary folk (if the Osbornes could ever be considered ordinary) Kun's book goes one step further and let's us see what happens when one man attempts to re-connect with someone he knew before she was famous.

The results of Sid Straw's attempts, and the resulting misunderstandings, take us for an extremely funny ride, providing biting commentary on lawyers, parents, relationships, work and even more lawyers.

The creative way in which the story is presented, as a "simple" series of letters, notes and memos, carries you along with great ease and expertly conveys the story of this hapless but lovable individual.

With a keen ear for language and a wry sense of humor, Kun has created a must-read book, not just another piece of "summer reading". More importantly, it's a book that you will want to recomend to your friends and read again and again.

Michael Kun has easily surpassed his promising first novel, A Thousand Benjamins, with this continuously hilarious epistolary venture. The novel's sole epistolator, Sid Straw, combines the timidity of early Woody Allen with the fecklessness of Albert Brooks (a natural for the movie version) and the social satire of the letters of Don Novello. He is an accident that doesn't wait long to happen--about 100 of them in the first 100 pages. Kun is an expert comedian who knows how to build through repetition with variation; and just when the momentum peaks, he shifts into a totally satisfying vindictive gear. There is a letter a page and at least two laughs per letter--you do the math. And don't worry if you've never heard of Heather Locklear. You can substitute any celebrity. I read this book in 1.5 sittings and I am a painfully slow reader. You can take this to the beach without fear of getting sand between the pages: you will finish it before you can turn over. Buy this book!

I picked this book up on a whim, and I sure am glad that I did. The author has put together an absolute comic masterpiece. Sid Straw is a character you will never forget. I can honestly say that I have never laughed out loud so many times while reading a book before. The book is such a quick read that it's easy to miss how carefully and perfectly constructed it is. Somehow, the author is able to get laughs from words that aren't even on the page, or from the act of turning the pages themselves -- which won't make sense until you read the book. As for the writing, it's hard to say what the funniest letters are: the florist who keeps screwing up Sid's notes to his girlfriend("still stinking of you" had me rolling on the floor laughing), the government agents who tell Sid's mother that Sid hates her cooking, Sid pretending to be "Mrs. Sad Striw", or the porno mags that get sent to the American Cancer Society. I'm laughing just thinking about them and looking forward to rereading the book this weekend.

Looking for a witty, easy-to-read and immensely entertaining diversion from ordinary fiction? Then pick up The Locklear Letters. I recently received a copy as a gift and once I got started, I couldn't put it down. Mr. Kun's ability to convey the trials and tribulations of Sid Straw in the form of letters is simply remarkable. I look forward to more great work from Michael Kun in the future.

This is a hilarious quick read. One can't help but want to continue reading about the adventures (or misadventures) of Sid Straw. This is a laugh out loud kind of book. I can't wait for the movie!

Well, it's the end of the year, when everyone makes their lists of their favorite movies, books and CDs. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that "The Locklear Letters" was the best novel to be published this year. Yes, it's enormously entertaining and funnier than anything else. Yes, it's told in an unusual fashion (letters) and it's a very quick read. But it's also an incredibly -- and surprisingly -- touching story that you'll reread time and time again. It's a remarkable achievement from an unknown writer who hopefully won't be unknown for much longer. For that reason, it's #1 on my year-end list for favorite books.