Northline: A Novel (P.S.) [Paperback]

Willy Vlautin (Author)

Book Description

Series: P.S. | Publication Date: April 29, 2008

Fleeing Las Vegas and her abusive boyfriend, Allison Johnson moves to Reno, intent on making a new life for herself. Haunted by the mistakes of her past, and lacking any self-belief, her only comfort seems to come from the imaginary conversations she has with Paul Newman, and the characters he played. But as life crawls on and she finds work, small acts of kindness start to reveal themselves to her, and slowly the chance of a new life begins to emerge. Full of memorable characters and imbued with a beautiful sense of yearning, Northline is an extraordinary portrait of contemporary America from a writer and musician whose work has been lauded as "mournful, understated, and proudly steeped in menthol smoke and bourbon" (New York Times Book Review).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Singer-novelist Vlautin's second novel (after The Motel Life) reads more like a movie treatment than a novel. Allison Johnson, 22, is a high school dropout with a destructive lifestyle (alcoholism, self-mutilation, vituperative boyfriend who knocks her up early in the novel); the only positive influence in Allison's life is her favorite actor, Paul Newman, who appears to her during traumatic moments. Their banal conversations center on Newman's movie roles and how they equip him to continually bail Allison out of her sorry situation. She takes his advice (get the hell out of Dodge, as they say, and most of all, kid, buck up) and moves from Las Vegas to Reno. But pregnant Allison's life isn't much better in Reno: the cycle of self-loathing continues, and even though Newman implores Allison to turn her life around, the damage is all but done. Much of the writing reads like stage direction, and the abbreviated chapters give the narrative a rushed, slapdash feel. (May)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Timorous, twentysomething Allison Johnson is pregnant. She didn’t complete high school and has worked as a waitress for several years. She often gets drunk and quickly passes out and then writes herself letters that shriek her lack of worth. But her biggest fear is of Jimmy Bodie, her abusive, budding-skinhead boyfriend. So she leaves Las Vegas and moves to Reno. She gives her son up for adoption, begins waitressing again, and has imaginary conversations with actor Paul Newman that help her carry on. Vlautin uses the same strikingly spare and simple prose in Northline that distinguised his critically acclaimed first novel, The Motel Life (2007). His essential subject, decent people enduring difficult lives, also remains the same, but here he takes a giant step in his growth as a novelist, plumbing much deeper into the emotional core of his characters. Northline recalls a dust-jacket blurb on an early edition of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men: “Two hours to read, 20 years to forget.” --Thomas Gaughan

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061456527
• ISBN-13: 978-0061456527
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #937,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Characterization at its finest, May 21, 2008

By 

K. Cade (St Petersburg, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Northline: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

I picked this book up last night knowing nothing about the author or the title. I read it in a matter of hours. Why? I could not put it down. Alison Johnson is a person you've known in your lifetime. A good person who continues to make mistakes. Yet in this novel you don't get angry with her, you are sad for her and begin to root for her to overcome her deep seeded issues. You hate when bad things happen to her and you rejoice at every good decision she makes.

This novel works because Mr. Vlautin allows you to "know" his characters in a way that makes you want to read. I read a lot of books, rarely do I come take the time to write a review, but this one's a winner.

My copy came with a novel soundtrack. Novel idea, one that I think will catch on perhaps. If we're lucky. The soundtrack has no lyrics, just chill music.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful, quick, moving read, February 20, 2008

By 

Heather A. Teysko "heatherteyskodotcom" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Northline (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at a librarian convention a few months ago - the publisher had a booth and was giving out preview copies. It's not something I normally would have picked up as I'm more of a chick-lit kind of girl, but I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was well worth it, and I'm definitely a fan of Vlautin now, and will get his other books.

Allison Johnson is trapped in a really bad situation in life - she's 22, dropped out of high school, works as a waitress in a Las Vegas casino, has an abusive boyfriend, hurts herself, is an alcoholic, and writes notes to herself about what a horrible person she is.

The only thing keeping her going is her imaginary conversations with Paul Newman, who she has a major crush on (her mother and sister do, too).

Paul Newman gives her advice based on his movie roles, and begs her to turn her life around, stop hurting herself, and pull it together.

There were moments where I really wanted to shake her and get her to come to her senses. Other times, like when she got her own apartment and went shopping at the Salvation Army, I was really proud of her ability to take care of herself.

She meets a lot of really horrible people, but she also meets kindness and love, and the story, which runs the gamut of emotion, eventually ends on a hopeful note.

It is a really quick read - took me about 3 hours or so - and I definitely recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One woman's life., September 4, 2008

By 

Michael G. "mikefromrochester" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Northline: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

With his second published novel Northline, Willy Vlautin proves that his first, The Motel Life, was no fluke. Both these books paint vivid pictures of society's outcasts as they struggle to survive in a world they find overwhelming.
Unlike The Motel Life, Northline is a third person narration and this time the protagonist is female. Allison Johnson, more often then not referred to simply as "the girl", lives in Nevada. Her problems are many: alcoholism, family dysfunction, abusive boyfriend, incomplete education and honest to God psychiatric illness. Using a series of vignettes, Vlautin succeeds in bringing realism to Allison's claustrophobic life.
This is a compelling novel which realistically tells of lives lived on the margins. For those unafraid of glimpsing society's hidden underbelly, Northline is a must read.

The limited edition CD of original instrumental music that came with the paperback proved to be a welcome bonus.