Today, I’m writing about another research book for The Visions of Bezek, Downtown Owl.
This book makes for an interested addition to the research collection. It’s not in the horror or science fiction genres. It’s a small‑town drama that takes place in a rural North Dakota town called Owl. In the words of the book’s back cover:
Somewhere in North Dakota, there is a town called owl that isn’t there. Disco is over, but punk never happened. They don’t have cable. They don’t really have pop culture, unless you count grain prices and alcoholism. People work hard, and then they die. They hate the government and impregnate teenage girls. But that’s not nearly as awful as it sounds; in fact, sometimes it’s perfect.
Chuck Klosterman’s Downtown Owl is the unpretentious, darkly comedic story of how it feels to exist in a community where rural mythology and violent reality are pretty much the same thing. It’s technically about certain people in a certain pace at a certain time… but it’s really about a problem. And the problem is this: What does it mean to be a normal person? And these is no answer. But in Downtown Owl, what matters more is how you ask the question.
Sounds interesting, right? Well, I didn’t read any of that before I picked up the book. This book was suggested to me because it takes place in a small‑town and is told from the viewpoints of multiple characters. That’s a big part of what I wanted to do with The Visions of Bezek. So I bought this book without question.
It turns out that I didn’t care much about this book, but it still provided some valuable research. There wasn’t anything wrong with the book. It was just too far removed from my preferred genres for me to love it.
Downtown Owl is told in a linear fashion, but the chapters switch viewpoints between three different residents of the town. That’s pretty cool, only I wasn’t really interested in two of the three viewpoints. There was an elderly man named Horace, a high school student named Mitch, and an English teacher named Julia. I found the teacher’s story to be the most interesting, and Horace’s story was the least relatable to me. Maybe I’ll like it better when I’m an elderly man?
With my complaints behind us, the author did an amazing job of building a small‑town through the eyes of these three residents. They all have unique experiences within Owl with their own story arcs. It certainly gave me some insight into how to write my book. The ending was by far the best part of Downtown Owl, where all of them have a shared experience, but won’t ruin anything on here.
It’s my understanding that there is a movie in the works. I’ll absolutely be watching it once it releases. It looks like it even has some big names in the cast. I think that might be every author’s dream.
If you’re looking for a small‑town drama to read, then you might want to give this book a try.
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