Customer Reviews

Misadventures in the (213)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I couldn't put this book down. I bought this book months ago after a friend recommended it to me. But I put it on my bookshelf and almost forgot about, until one night when I found myself looking for a book and came face-to-face with the flamboyant face on the cover staring at me. It seemed to scream: "Read me, dammit!" I flinched, and then I picked it up to read the first couple paragraphs...pages...chapters...(I completely forgot what I was looking for). It's been a while since I laughed through a whole book--I actually don't think I'd ever laughed through a whole book. MISADVENTURES cracked me up so much, I couldn' put the book down, and at one point I felt like a fool trying to hold back my guffaw on the subway--feeling like a bigger fool missing my stop (yet again). Dennis Hensley has a profound knowledge base of American pop culture; in fact, it's rather scary, in a "I-can't-believe-you-knew-that" sort of way, how entrenched this novel is in camp television/film culture. I loved it! You have to love Craig, the narrator of the story; and the supporting characters are all multidimensional...or should I say dysfunctional. The dialogue has got to be the best part of this novel. You can almost hear the characters talking. I'm going to get the audio version of this book just to hear Craig, et. al. This novel is too outrageous to be real, and just for that, it deserves to be read over and over and over again.

Screening Party was a recommended to me and after I finished that I HAD to read Misadventures. I wan't disappointed. It was so funny I could barely make it through a page without laughing out loud. Craig was completelely lovable and the people that surronded him were trippy and wonderful. It's a great book, especially for people who love movies, television, and the camp culture that's grown up around them.

This book succeeds where so many other comic novels do not: it is actually funny. Very funny. You will laugh out loud at these characters and their outrageous adventures, one-liners and off-the-cuff remarks. Much better than other silly comedies like Glamourpuss or Hello Darling ...

...because you will get some weird looks from strangers who see you laughing out loud (I drove most of the other passengers into different cars on a NYC subway while reading the "Aladdin" rug section). But while "Misadventures In The (213)" is quite possibly the funniest book I have ever read, that isn't the only reason I keep pulling it off the shelf to reread parts of it. The characters are so well drawn and interact so wonderfully with each other that I found myself longing to be a part of their circle of friends. They all get their share of hilarious one liners (while watching the movie "Babe"- "The proud farmer looks down at Babe and delivers the final line: "That'll do, pig". "Reminds me of the last time I had sex," says Claudia."), but there are a number of touching moments as well (Craig and Dandy's conversation after Craig catches Dandy with his ex-lover). I've read the book in it's entirety 2-3 times, as well as reading specific sections over and over, and each time I put it back in the bookcase wishing I could fly out to LA and join Craig, Dandy, and the rest of the gang in some of their 213 misadventures.

I used to read the column in DETOUR magazine, by the fictional Craig Clybourn, upon which the novel is based. Every month found me at the newstand, waiting for read more of the misadventures faces by Craig and Dandy, and their slew of friends. I was more than surprised to find the hardback, with all the columns finally pulled together to show a great effort in fun story telling. When I lived in Los Angeles, also in the 213, everything seemed possible; it was refreshing to read a novel in which everything (and everyone) became possible. My favorite parts of the novel involved Miles and the watermelon, Claudia and the Lost Hope chest, and Godfrey and the playground. It took me one day to read the book cover to cover; I still find myself opening the book to any random chapter throughout the year, just to laugh once again. Great book, and I do wish that Dennis Hensley would take time to write another novel!

I had to stuff a pillow in my mouth to keep my guffaws from waking the neighbours. While the book jacket foolishly compares this book to Tales of the City (I enjoy Maupin, but he is chuckle-inducing, not laugh out loud funny) the true comparison is with Joe Keenan's Blue Heaven. Joe is still my fave, but it's a pleasure to discover a writer who approaches his genius. I just pray the Mr. Hensley is more prolific than Mr. Keenan. Keep writing--I can't wait for the sequel. (And for goodness sake put some beefcake on the cover of the eventual paperback release. You have to catch the attention of your readers somehow.)

Don't be fooled by the hype over "Misadventures in the 213" -- contrary to comparison, this book in no way does for LA what the "Tales of the City" books did for San Francisco. While Armistead Maupin created vivid characters and finessed his way out of implausible plot twists, Dennis Hensley gives us a far less vivid cast, and creates a story full of turns so implausible you will need to surpress an eye roll on a regular basis.

One example: after the main character, Craig, is set up on a date with his agent's daughter, he breaks the date only to run into the girl at a dance-a-thon. He then attempts to bust a move to impress her, only to break both her legs. (Yes, you read that right.) And let's not forget, Craig is gay and only accepted the date because he thought the agent could do him some good. Almost every chapter has events as improbable.

Hensley fares better when he tones it town, offering such sallies as "Andy is sporting bags under his eyes so large they wouldn't fit in the overhead container and would have to be checked." He's not exactly Oscar Wilde, but moments like that won me over.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy "Misadventures in the 213" but I won't be rushing out to read its sequel.

Remember that television series from a few years back about Jennifer Grey trying to make it in Hollywood? This book is everything that show wasn't: clever, hilarious, satirical, and--dare I say it?--insightful. It's all about trying to make it in the insane entertainment industry of Los Angeles, and the tone is frothy and superficial, exactly like Los Angeles itself! Hensley shows us the city and the industry from the inside, and he's clearly a fan. Unlike Hensley (and Randy Newman), I hate L.A. But I loved this book!

Okay...how to describe this book and not sound like a raving lunatic? Well you can't really...In a nutshell, Craig Clybourn leaves his nice job as a cruise director to move to L.A. to be with his friend, sitcom star Dandy Rio who gets him in some of the oddest situations imaginable. From stealing fish from Tina Louise's koi pond to sleeping Alicia Silverstone a copy of his screenplay with the words, "Your boyfriend does it with watermelons" imprinted on the front to falling in and out and love (or maybe lust) over and over. Let's just say you may have a new affection for the McDonalds Playland after this...and a new understanding for how some pageant winners are picked....

This is Hollywood as seen through the eyes of young upwardly mobile gay man Craig Clybourn; an aspiring screen-writer, Craig lives vicariously through his vivacious and promiscuous college friend Dandy Rio, who has her own sitcom, and his other overly ambitious colleagues. Portrays Hollywood as the cut-throat, blood-lusting place that it is rumored to be in such a funny manner that you will want to take this one to read again and again as light entertainment on long trips or long afternoons.