Customer Reviews

Valley

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mike Daily colors outside the lines. With his book on Bend Press he surpasses the boundaries of conventional novels. He not only does it with form but also subject matter.

If you just pick up valley and flip through it, you might think there had been a malfunction at the printer. Daily uses several different forms to convey his stories. Some of it does look like a regular novel. In other areas it is written like a play. Some of this book is peotry. There is also a part of this book that is written like a film script. But each of the forms work in this book. With the form of this book changing several times, it really keeps you involved. I was asked what is this novel about? I was stumped. This book is about nothing but at the same time this book is about everything. This semi autobiographical novel's main character is Mick O'Grady. Mick thinks. He tries to find rhyme and reason in everyday minutia. It seems that the subject matter is disjointed from chapter to chapter as you read it. After you finish you realize what this book lacks in a coherent linear story line, it makes up for it in its coherence in tonality and overall feeling. It has been awhile since Mike Daily has had the freedom like he did with his old zine Aggro Rag. After seeing what is churned out monthly in BMX Plus, I kind of forgot how well Daily writes. This novel was a breath of fresh air. There is no doubt in my mind that BMX Plus would have the crediblilty it lacks now if Mike Daily were allowed to write with the freedom he had while writing this book. I really liked this book, I haven't enjoyed a book this much since I read Irving Welsh. Valley is more of an experience than a book. Some of the words will stick inside your head like peanut butter to the top of your mouth. Own this book.

I bought this on a recommendation from a friend who's never been wrong, and still isn't. This is an odd little episodic novel about a slacker type dealing with life issues. The deadpan voice may turn some readers off, but I found that the character is emotionally knotted enough that it rings true rather than contrived. It's also a strangely sweet book, incredibly honest, with weird little pomo pieces like poetry and side notes that add rather than detract from the book as a package.

For years Mike Daily has been the editor of BMX Plus! magazine, don't look to that magazine for the wonderful writings in Valley though. For readers of the now defunct magazines that Daily worked on, (like Aggro Rag) we are delighted to see that he is still capable of turning out an amazing product. Valley is an amazing book. It reminds me of a very twisted Douglas Coupland. ...which is a very good thing.

Every once in a while a book comes along that forces you to dig a little. It engages you for reasons other than a suspenseful hook or a formula plot and makes you examine the people around you for comparisons to characters you're reading about. And once you're hooked, well the addiction is complete. Mike Daily's Valley is one such book. The "marginalia" and randomly inserted imagery are as multi-layered and thought provoking as if reading the journal of someone who might be slightly mad. Definitely worth the read.

Daily has brought to the table a masterful piece that combines literary hodgepodge and the essence of the San Fernando Valley. With gripping characters and outlandish story lines, this book was hard to put down. I'm already looking forward to his next encounter.

The genius of Valley is the easy pace and superdetailed examination of life's "marginalia": those fringe moments, greasy people, and sketchy places you notice and, if you know what's good for you, you pay very little attention to. Mike Daily has richly documented a couple hundred pages worth of joy, madness and discomfort, San Fernando Valley style. It made me laugh and itch. My own copy of the book has been passed along to several friends who took it like a wallop on the side of the head with a burning Duralog™. Bonus: Bendpress provides quite a tasty layout--pleasant on the eye and the brain.

This book appeared out of nowhere to dismantle my brain in a rather satisfying manner. Mike Daily mixes styles, moods, and slight of hand to tell the amusing story of a SoCal fellow who dabbles in poetry while trying to understand his girlfriend and life. Daily's brave experiments and so-light-it-floats narration will make your belly chuckle and your face smile. I'd like to see more books like this!

This book, at first, seems like it will make no sense - sort of scattered thoughts - but by the end of even the second page, you get the idea. The characters seem to share an overacute capacity for both despair and elation but in a really human way, not an obvious 18 carat manic depressive way, and it is really relatable. I was completely captured from beginning to end. I wanted to meet every character. A perfect balance of fantasy and reality and discomfort and confusion and contentment. For the characters and for the reader. A very fulfilling experience, this book, all around.

I got this book in a trade at the Paradise Lounge three years ago back when there was something real happening there every Sunday night. I was rocked. You don't expect to get a book this well written at a an open mike poetry reading. Afraid I would never be able to replace it because I couldn't find it on Amazon (I was spelling Mike's name wrong) I've been loathe to loan it out. But this is one of the most original, engrossing books I've read and I'm excited to find out it's still available.

valley is an excellent novel. i'd like to see him title his next book-- Between the Eyes: The history of ping-pong

Rock on bro!