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"A wonderful accomplishment. . . . The power is in the writing. Mr. Meno is a superb craftsman."-Hubert Selby Jr.
"The author moves the story along at a surprisingly fast and easy pace. The evil eyes of small-town America seem to peer from every page of Meno's claustrophobic noir, where the good and the bad are forced down the same violent paths."-Kirkus Reviews
"Joe Meno writes with the energy, honesty, and emotional impact of the best punk rock."-Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic, Chicago Sun-Times
"A likable winner that should bolster Meno's reputation." -Publishers Weekly
"Joe Meno writes with the energy, honesty, and emotional impact of the best punk rock." -Jim DeRogatis, Chicago Sun-Times
"Fans of hard-boiled pulp fiction will particularly enjoy this novel." -Booklist
A young ex-con in a small Illinois town. A lonely giant with a haunted past. A beautiful girl with a troubled heart. Strange and darkly magical, How the Hula Girl Sings begins exactly where most pulp fiction usually ends, with the vivid episode of the terrible crime itself. Three years later, Luce Lemay, out on parole for the awful tragedy, does his best to finds hope: in a new job at the local Gas-N-Go; in his companion and fellow ex-con, Junior Breen, who spells out puzzling messages to the unquiet ghosts of his past; and finally, in the arms of the lovely but reckless Charlene. How the Hula Girl Sings is a suspenseful exploration of a country bright with the far-off stars of forgiveness and dark with the still-looming shadow of the death penalty.
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By adam (Annandale, NY)
I seem to be the lone voice on this, but I found this book to be a real disappointment. The dialogue was often too elaborate and misplaced, making the conversations unrealistic. Other parts, such as the sheriff "calling a doctor" and telling the characters to escape town, rather than take them to a hospital and try arresting the offenders, just got me plain mad because of the implausibility. However, the thing that really capped off my dislike for the book was Meno's constant repetition in description.
"No dainty gloom could make a body feel more lonesome than missing a tooth. It made me feel improper to smile. Losing that molar over a girl who wouldn't even spare me a kiss made me feel like the imperial king of all fools. Nothing else could make me feel so low."
After reading iterative writing like that, extended to 209 pages, I felt like taking a thesaurus and bashing the author in the head with it.
This book, every component of it, was a disgrace to the literary accomplishments Meno created in Hairstyles of the Damned.
By David Benz (Mesa, AZ)
HTHGS is a lyrical, poetic chronicle of a recently paroled felon's return to small town America. Mr. Meno writes with a dark, terse voice which captures the reader's attention. This trip inside a off-kilter, violent and sometimes insane world left me wanting more. A pure and thoughtful exploration of guilt and love in a world with little room for either.
By meghan lee (Chicago, IL USA)
This book is the type that I find few and far between. Without so much as blinking i was already through the first hundred pages. Since i have a very short attention span, you can see why this is a big deal. This book made me not want to sleep, eat, or do anything to deter me from its pages. When it was over I was left sated but wishing there were a thousand more pages to come. Luce Lemay's auspicious heart, dealt a hard luck hand, kept me filled with hope, wonder and awe. Even after a month since I finished it, I still can't help but wonder what old Luce is doing now.
By Sam (Boston, MA USA)
This book was quite a surprise to me.
In college I became deeply infatuated with a
certain style of writing—that of such Southern
writers as William Faulkner, Flannery
O'Conner and especially Carson McCullers.
Joe Meno carries on this great Southern gothic
tradition in his new book How the Hula Girl
Sings.
Meno creates a claustrophobic
small town seething with sickness
and hate. He fills it with characters such as
an abusive father whose feet were eaten by
gangrene, a woman who kills small animals
and nails them to her walls in hand-crocheted
sweaters so that she can mourn them, and a
back stabbing ex-con who fashioned his fake
teeth out of gravel.
While this book is not a traditional
mystery I believe that it is well worth the read.
The story moves along at a good pace and is
extremely engaging. (The Librarian, 5 cats)
By James (Los Angelas, CA)
What can I say? This is just an excellent read. Meno combines the quick, tight story movement of a pulp novel with a poet's view of the world. The language is simple but moving. Combine all that with some solid, fascinating, very human characters, finish it up with a powerhouse ending and you know what you got? One hell of a book.
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