The Honk & Holler Opening Soon

Casual review time!
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Books are not out of style. I refuse to believe so, considering I found more substance in an old book then I do in half of my college courses this past weekend.

(Note that the courses I do find worthwhile tend to be, well, literature courses. Plus an occasional anthropology course.)

Continuing on that note, older books are also not out of style. In fact, given the recent publishing of “Twilight” I think I can go out on a limb and dare to say older books have even more to offer than what is currently being slapped onto the shelves and sold via Kindle to be viewed on our tiny handheld screens.

“The Honk & Holler Opening Soon” is a sweet book published in the late 1990s, with a storyline focused on 1985. The main characters are as complex as the history of the times – the owner of a dried up restaurant is a Vietnam veteran that won’t see himself as one; his aging, mother-figure friend has her own daughter who ran off to be a rock star.Wandering into town to make their lives more interesting are a Crow woman with an animal whispering skill and a body to call the boys; and a Vietnamese immigrant, who doesn’t even understand ¾ of what is being said right in his own ear.

The entire novel has the “small town” feeling: everyone knows everything, and even if they don’t know everything in one rare case of being able to keep the scandal under the lid, they sure will gossip their mouths off before they even make it to the Honk & Holler (Opening Soon) Café.

And what makes small towns interesting? Not the homely feel, but the conflict, the drama, the relationships, and the way that living in a slow lane often opens more eyes than the fast lane.

Stylistically, it's a fairly easy read. It's emotional. It's well paced: it knows when to slow down, when to speed up, when to just bump along at an easy and enjoyable pace. And no matter what mood we're in, once readers get about ten pages into it, they'll never want to put it down until they reach the end and wipe a not-so-sappy tear from their eyes.

In plain English: it’s eye opening. Be prepared to read about an older time where women’s choices were more likely to be scorned, and where marriage in your teens is incredibly common despite the changing times.

At least, despite some of its brutality and ability to stare life straight in the eye, it proves everything has a chance for a happy conclusion and rebirth.

“The Honk & Holler Opening Soon” is an older book, meaning it isn't as expensive as new books on the shelves (but very few of them seem to be able to match up to this one!). Amazon has it available on Kindle, and as always there are probably a few copies floating about the market; the last I checked this wonderful old book can be picked up for a grand total of $0.01. You’ll pay more for shipping than for the book.

Buy it?