Customer Reviews

Northline: A Novel (P.S.)

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

What a beauty.

Allison Johnson is a pregnant alcoholic who flees to Reno to escape her abusive boyfriend. Haunted by a long string of mistakes and with nothing to cling to, she's at the ragged edge; apart from booze, her only support system is Paul Newman, who pops by to have imaginary chats on a regular basis.

The wonderful thing about this book--one of them--is the unsentimental way Vlautin writes. Even as he explores serious emotional depths, everything unfolds in simple, matter-of-fact language that tears your heart out. And yet for all the pain, the novel is lit by a deep sense of hope in the possibility of a better day. Highly recommended.

His writing ability may be on the questionable side, but no one could possibly claim that Willy Vlautin's heart isn't in the right place. Vlautin crafts his prose in minimalistic Carver style, at least until his characters start talking (sometimes they don't pause for several paragraphs). Although it's difficult to say if this surface sense of simplicity is more the result of cunning or limitation of skill, ultimately the effect is a refreshing contrast to the many authors who are all too eager to let their own cleverness become part of the story (if not the central focus altogether). In Northline, the story is laid bare and so is the depth of feeling. This is an extremely affecting and beautifully humane story of two "marked" young people trying to salvage their broken lives by clinging to the aberrant kindnesses they find in one another. Its accompanying soundtrack is equally evocative.

A truly great read. Particularly if you're a fan of Richmond Fontaine like I am.

This book was painful in the best way--the characters moved inside me like ghosts. Beautifully written. Tenderly elegiac.

Nice book. It was in a little worse condition than I expected, but over all I was happy to get it for the price.