Customer Reviews

Termite Parade

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

 

 

I was looking forward to reading Termite Parade after checking out the reviews it received. I must confess that at first I was a little worried because Mohr's first book was listed as an Oprah recommended book (or something like that). Then I had to remind myself that Cormac McCarthy's The Road also got the O stamp of approval and I quickly got over my attitude. Termite Parade is a tightly crafted story of three lowlifes and their downward spiral of alcoholism, self-loathing, and just plain old being a-holes to each other. And Mohr makes you feel for these people. He really touches on their humanity and self-reflection to the point where the reader can empathize and sympathize with the tragically flawed characters. Some of the reviewers have compared Mohr's work to Bukowski. I get the comparison but I don't completely agree. Firstly, I have stopped comparing someone's book to another author. I feel like it takes away from the merit of the work to toss off some facile comparison instead of explaining why the work is good or bad or whatever. Also, Mohr's work stands on its own. The prose is tight, the story compelling, the characters are well developed. And, while some might find the tale depressing, there are elements of humor and redemption thrown in also. Mohr is a talented new writer and I look forward to reading more of his work.

Lance Carbuncle, author of SMASHED, SQUASHED, SPLATTERED, CHEWED, CHUNKED AND SPEWED, and, GRUNDISH AND ASKEW

Thank you Joshua Mohr for pushing me out of my comfort zone again. This is a dark twisted ride, and a brilliant exploration of betrayal that brings to mind Kafka and Dostoyevsky. Really. You'll never look at a stairwell the same again.

I loved "Some Things That Meant the World to Me," (STTMTWTM), as it was one of those books that the characters are so real and alive that they almost feel like disturbing family memories. I wanted to read another book like that and after reading the reviews of "The Termite Parade," I thought I'd get my fix. I have to say, there were times that I was reading it that I was just bored with the story and the characters altogether. I mean how many back and forth view points did I have to endure before Mired walked into the apartment? I ended up just skipping forward to just get to the undramatic point. It was like sex without the orgasm. I just didn't care about Mired's plight, Derek's whining self absorption and Frank's insipid movie. Sorry, I just can't rave about it like I can, "STTMTWTM." It felt like a formula book.

Weirdly wonderfully dark hopeful novel that broke my heart but still made me laugh out loud. Something about the people in this book that get inside your skin and you can't help but to fall in love with them. There's something about Joshua Mohr's writing that leaves you breathless anticipating the characters next self destructive move. You so want them to want more for themselves, you really hope for them all the way along. The only problem with this book is that is sort of ruins you for other books for a long time. I wanted to immediately find another book like this one, but I don't think it exists. Mired, Derek and his twin Brother spiral downward to a final scene that explodes with emotion. I found myself holding my breath. You won't regret reading this. Then after you are done you should go and read 'Some Things That Meant The World To Me' because that's the only thing thats going to cure your longing.

Joshua Mohr's second novel, Termite Parade, can best be summarized by the scraps of its own prose. The regurgitated chunks of text when spread out on a blank page are all one needs to understand the painful themes he has so tactfully woven into the perfectly paced plot. Ignoring any traces of sophomore novel angst, Mohr unabashedly allows the reader to wallow in the "vibrancy of creation" while he holds up "a mirror to humankind, so the animals could see themselves."

The idea of humans as animals is the backbone of Mohr's tale. He forces the reader into the cages of three characters who "reveal every contortion of their flimsy spirits," in everything they do and say. He unhurriedly creates a tapestry of shame, guilt, and regret. But rather than pity these lost souls who are trapped in their self-inflicted "dilapidated zoo," and floundering in their "arrogant betrayals," Mohr forces us to see ourselves in their malice and indignity.

Mohr's characters and their abusive existences act as a reminder to us all that the human spirit, while masquerading as noble and benevolent is really just, "seconds from crumbling away."

Early in the novel, Mohr states, "maybe there is no difference between evolution and devolution as long as it leads to change." He then spends the remainder of the book deconstructing his three characters down to their most base emotions, and he painfully unveils the animal in us all. By allowing us to relate to their self-loathing, Mohr helps us unhurriedly peel back the duplicity we all hide behind to survive. "What's the difference between lying to yourself and being redeemed?" He asks. Mohr dares us to admit that we don't all constantly lie to ourselves.

While Termite Parade is a book that forces you to acknowledge the "neglected, hoarse conscience," within us all, ultimately it is a novel of hope. Mohr may expose the hypocrisy of human happiness, but at the same time he alleges that perhaps when broken down to our most animal instincts we can, help the unveiled animal get "it's voice back and sing."

This novel is an honest and tender testimony to what it means to be human in the face of a world trapped in it's own apathy and tedium. With every sentence carefully crafted, and every word chosen for immediate impact, it is littered with intense visceral scenes. You may be able to read it in one sitting, but this is a novel that will stay with you every time you look in a mirror and lie to yourself.

A story of three morally compromised people: compromised by irresponsibility, by self-deception, by lies they tell others. Of course, a time comes when the debts are called in. The question is whether persons so mired in their own stew can skim off the crud and get to the meat of their better selves. The most gratifying part of Mohr's achievement is his willingness to have characters sincerely grapple with their failings and crimes, and show that change is possible--change that is believable and not cloying, difficult but possible. A welcome departure from novels that depict people as simple victims, unchangeable automatons, or unrepentant creeps. Gee--I think once upon a time they were called three-dimensional characters. Short coming: although the novel is told by the three main characters, their narrative voices are all identical; what separates them are their specific short-comings.