Cliched and predictable, nonetheless The Honk is perfect summer reading; plenty of "oh, my, what's going to happen?" and delightfully oddball characters. It's a classic feel good story; a few tears, plenty of chuckles, and certainly worth a quick read.
Danny J. (DanJohnson) from CARTERSVILLE, GA wrote on 4/25/2007...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
A very good book, with memorable characters that you come to care about. I had the definite feeling that I knew these people, because each one reminded me closely of someone from my past or present. Highly recommended!
Jane G. (pkrplr4116) from TALLAHASSEE, FL wrote on 4/18/2007...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
A great read! when I got to the end, I hoped for a sequel. Thoroughly entertaining! A collection of intracate lives exposed in all of their vulnerability!
Rachel H. from FLEETWOOD, PA wrote on 4/11/2007...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
In the small town of Sequoyak, OK forge friendships and become like family to each other. Detailed emotional descriptions. Good story.
Karol R. (GoodChickie) from PETALUMA, CA wrote on 4/9/2007...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Filled with humor and fascinating twists and turns. You will remember thes characters long after you have finished the last page.
Clara W. (MaGee) from MILWAUKEE, WI wrote on 10/17/2008...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
The "Honk," as it is lovingly called by its paraplegic owner and eccentric customers, is fictitious. It is patronized by a mix of characters the figment of Billie Letts' imagination. However, as I read, I felt like I was sitting at the counter sipping coffee with them. Perhaps that is because "The Blue Bird," "The Sweet Basil," "The Blue Rose," and "Mohr's" are real places I have been. There is a little of "The Honk" in each of these and other such places across America.
I felt welcomed there and part of the lives of each person: I struggled with Bui to become accepted; I felt Molly O's longing for her daughter; understood Vena's search for the meaning of her life; and somtimes, I'm as seemingly crazy as Big Fib. I was welcomed. I felt at home. You will,also. Just visit the "Honk and Holler Opening Soon" and see.
Anna L. (annalovesbooks) from CHICAGO, IL wrote on 11/13/2007...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
ISBN 0446675059 - I find myself put off by books that have a Reading Group Guide, which strikes me as wildly presumptuous on someone's part. That alone didn't have me thinking highly of this book, but it did get better.
Caney Paxton, wheelchair bound but broken in far more important ways, returned home from Vietnam and opened a cafe. One drunken phone call changed the name from "The Honk and Holler" to "The Honk and Holler Opening Soon", a name that - considering the people it is home to - is more appropriate than you'd think. Caney lives in a room in the back and hasn't been out of the cafe since it opened. His waitress, Molly O, pines for the return of her high-school-dropout daughter, who ran off to seek fame and fortune as a country singer. The regulars come and go like clockwork, new customers are rare and nothing really ever happens. So when the door opens for Vera Takes Horse, no one is prepared for the changes she will bring to the Honk.
A nice, if not particularly great, story about fairly average people whose dramas are bigger in their own minds than they are in reality, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon distracts the reader from the story with some of the unusual names and characters' weird behavior. Not a book I'd recommend, but it's not terrible, either.
Rick J. from ALLENTOWN, PA wrote on 5/1/2007...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Caney Paxton wanted his cafe to have the biggest and brightest sign in Eastern Oklahoma - the "opening soon" part was supposed to be just a removable, painted notice. But a fateful misunderstanding gave Vietnam vet Caney the flashiest joke in the entire state.
Twelve years later, the once-busy highway is dead, the joke is old, and the sign is as worn as Chaney, who hasn't ventured outside the diner since it opened. The regulars at the Honk, still gabbing and crabbing over hot java and eggs easy, haven't changed much either. Then one blustery December day, a thirtyish Crow woman blows in with a half-dead three-legged dog in her amrs and a long-buried secret on her mind. Hiring on as a carhop, Vena Takes Horse is soon shaking up bisiness, the locals, and Caney's heart...as she teaches them all about generosity of spirit, love, and the possiblility of promise - just like the sign says.
Bonnie G. (maggiezass) from MONT VERNON, NH wrote on 4/3/2007...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wonderfully written book and a great cast of characters.
Joy S. (Slim) from FULTON, KY wrote on 3/25/2007...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book centers around a group "regulars" at a worn down roadside cafe. There is a short Q & A with the author, book club discussion questions and a short funny essay on writing at the end of the book.
Rate These Member Reviews
Debby W. from BOCA RATON, FL wrote on 11/22/2008...
Good read. Author write "Shoot the Moon" which is excellent!
Cathy S. (katy0118) from CAMBRIDGE, IL wrote on 11/12/2008...
this book brings you in touch with the characters, draws you in, a very good read.
Lola H. (AuntLolaBunny) from BLACKWELL, OK wrote on 10/6/2008...
Great story. Loved the characters. It draws you into their world of triumps and troubles.
Kristin G. (lilpenguin) from EL DORADO, KS wrote on 9/18/2008...
This is the second book by her that I have read and once again I am thrilled. The story has a nice easy flow and the charcters are believible. I look forward to hearing more from this author.
Marge B. (maum) from BLUFFTON, SC wrote on 8/25/2008...
Quirky characters and liked their interactions. Good book to read in one or two sittings.
I liked this book. The characters were well developed and you really started to care about them. I have read other books by this author and have liked them as well.
Shanna V. (shanna71) from GRANITE, OK wrote on 3/9/2008...
read this book because I like the first one. I found this one moderatly interesting and read it in it's entirty, but have not read much more of Ms. Lett's later books.
I just finished reading this wonderful book and now I'm so disappointed that it has finished! Billie Letts has a firm, terrific way with her characters. No BS - these are real, breathing people here; charmingly portrayed and skillfully plotted for a wonderful story! Please Billie - more - more - more!
Bryce W. (Calliope) from BROOKLYN, NY wrote on 12/5/2007...
If I need to read something comforting and uplifting, I'll pick up this book. There's nothing difficult or surprising about it, but it's like chicken soup on a sick day.
Karen A. (Kayloa) from MILWAUKEE, WI wrote on 11/11/2007...
Great book. First time I read a book that I wished a movie had been made of it. Great characters, story is interesting and not predictable (like so many others). I really enjoyed reading this book.