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Tales of the Madman Underground Barnes John Books

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Tales of the Madman Underground Barnes John Books

Once I got over expecting the main characters to be attacked by zombies or stolen away by an invading army of flying saucers, I was able to relax and enjoy this untraditional John Barnes book.

Barnes is best known to me as an author of some of my favorite science-fiction novels. When I saw this book and realized I'd missed it on publication, I immediately grabbed an e-copy and set about reading it without even knowing what it was about. I'm a big John Barnes fan.

It is not science fiction. It's your regular, everyday retro fiction set in the early 1970's in a small Ohio town. Karl Shoemaker, son of the former mayor, former town drunk, and current dead man, is about to start his senior year in high school and he's got a plan. For years, Karl has been a member of what was called -- among its members -- the Madman Underground. They were a semi-covert group of students who all had been assigned to therapy for a variety of problems. Karl, though, has had enough. He wants to spend one year when he's not in therapy with yet another clueless therapist.

Thus, Karl launches Operation Be F***ing Normal. The first thing he did was stop drinking and join AA, which promptly lost him his girlfriend. Working five jobs and keeping an eye on his perpetually pleasure-seeking hippie wannabe mom, Karl doesn't have a lot of time for fun. That, however, doesn't stop him from trying, even without a girlfriend.

Mostly, though, his free time is spent helping his friends from the Madman Underground and getting into the same sorts of situations that require help from those same friends.

Tales from the Madman Underground is an interesting book. The voice of Karl Shoemaker is hilariously real and sadly familiar all at once. Too many kids face the same problems as Karl. Not many of them, though, face them with such a relentlessly entertaining point of view. For a book that begins with a dead father, a might-as-well-be absentee mother, addiction and mental illness, Tales of the Madman Underground is a surprisingly upbeat and hopeful novel.

Well worth your time and money.


Tags : Amazon.com: Tales of the Madman Underground (9780670060818): Barnes John: Books,Barnes John,Tales of the Madman Underground,Viking Books for Young Readers,067006081X,Family - Parents,Social Themes - Depression,Social Themes - General,Alcoholism,Coming of age,Coming of age;Fiction.,Emotional problems,Emotional problems;Fiction.,Friendship,Friendship;Fiction.,High schools,Mothers and sons,Ohio - History - 20th century,Schools,Children's Teenage fiction & true stories,Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Fiction,Fiction-Psychological,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Fiction Social Themes Adolescence,Juvenile Grades 10-12 Ages 15+,Ohio,Social Issues - Adolescence,TEEN'S FICTION - COMING OF AGE,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Family Parents,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Depression,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes General (see also headings under Family),Young Adult Fiction Social Themes General,Juvenile Fiction Social Themes Adolescence,Social Issues - Adolescence,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Family Parents,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Depression,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes General (see also headings under Family),Young Adult Fiction Social Themes General,Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General,Fiction,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Children's Teenage fiction & true stories

Tales of the Madman Underground Barnes John Books Reviews

ok
Awesome book. Would recommend.
An interesting look at the lives of a group of unique teens through the eyes of Karl Shoemaker. Everyone has issues, these kids just have more than most. But it is fascinating to see how friendships and relationships can grow and thrive despite the troubles and trials of life and the age differences. All it takes is one person to make a difference.

I loved the book. Read it for a class, but it is definitely one I would pick up again. It is familiar and unique at the same time. Barnes does a brilliant job with his characterizations and making the 1970s scene feel modern and relevant.
I thought this book would be my kind of book and I was right. This coming-of-age story set during the first six days of the school year in 1973 in a blue-collar town in Ohio had everything I like in a YA novel angst-ridden teens who are actually trying to better their lives; superb writing which is humorous and poignant in turns; historically accurate; characters who are multifaceted-- not just one-dimensional; and dialogue which seems real and well-timed.

Karl Shoemaker wants his senior year to be 'normal' rather than one dominated by the drama associated with the forced therapy group he has been a part of since 4th grade. As he tries to distance himself from the group he realizes that he can't and doesn't want to distance himself from the friends he has made in the group, The Madman Underground. This rag-tag group of kids who all have pretty hefty problems are truly his support network. Adults, like his hippie, cat-loving, alcoholic mother, may let him down but the members of the Madman Underground never do.

The subtitle of this book is A Historical Romance, 1973. I was in high school in 1973 so I was on the lookout for authentic, accurate cultural references and the book was full of them. Here are a few that I found charming/funny Karl sprayed his pits (he put on deodorant); the hoods came in the bathroom to smoke (the drug-users, hard-core kids--most schools at that time period had a smoking area but often the hoods would come inside and smoke in the bathroom when the weather was bad outside); Marti drove a Ford LTD (I think half of my friends' parents had LTDs when I was in high school); she was such a J.D. (juvenile delinquent); platform wedges (shoes that gals wore that made them about five inches taller); references to Kent State and Vietnam (The National Guard killed four students on the campus of Kent State who were protesting the Vietnam War.) Barnes did a great job placing the plot accurately in the early 1970s.

Common Sense Media, an organization which reviews books and films and gives them an age-rating for appropriateness (rather than ban or censor them), grades this book as 16+. I would agree that this is a book for a mature, older teenager. There is quite a bit of profanity and talk of sexual issues. But I think that readers of Marcus Zusak (I Am the Messenger); John Green (Looking for Alaska; Paper Towns); and Libba Bray (Going Bovine) will enjoy this book also.

This book is 530 pages long but it felt like a short book. I didn't want it to end. It's that good.

[...]

Tales of the Madman Underground
This novel is highly recommended to teenagers. I loved it personally, because it was an easy read, and it was incredibly entertaining. Barnes' writing allows the readers to immerse themselves into the novel very quickly, and live in the town of Lightsburg, Ohio with Karl, Paul, and the rest of the Madmen. I loved the way that Barnes pokes fun at the social norms of the 70's and the things that seem important to most teenagers, no matter what their situation is. This book is relate-able and well written, and I absolutely recommend it to teenagers who are going through tough times. I would even recommend it to teenagers who are well off as well, because it may give you an opportunity to step out of your $175 shoes and into the shoes of kids who are struggling to take care of themselves, their siblings, and even their own parents. Great book.
Once I got over expecting the main characters to be attacked by zombies or stolen away by an invading army of flying saucers, I was able to relax and enjoy this untraditional John Barnes book.

Barnes is best known to me as an author of some of my favorite science-fiction novels. When I saw this book and realized I'd missed it on publication, I immediately grabbed an e-copy and set about reading it without even knowing what it was about. I'm a big John Barnes fan.

It is not science fiction. It's your regular, everyday retro fiction set in the early 1970's in a small Ohio town. Karl Shoemaker, son of the former mayor, former town drunk, and current dead man, is about to start his senior year in high school and he's got a plan. For years, Karl has been a member of what was called -- among its members -- the Madman Underground. They were a semi-covert group of students who all had been assigned to therapy for a variety of problems. Karl, though, has had enough. He wants to spend one year when he's not in therapy with yet another clueless therapist.

Thus, Karl launches Operation Be F***ing Normal. The first thing he did was stop drinking and join AA, which promptly lost him his girlfriend. Working five jobs and keeping an eye on his perpetually pleasure-seeking hippie wannabe mom, Karl doesn't have a lot of time for fun. That, however, doesn't stop him from trying, even without a girlfriend.

Mostly, though, his free time is spent helping his friends from the Madman Underground and getting into the same sorts of situations that require help from those same friends.

Tales from the Madman Underground is an interesting book. The voice of Karl Shoemaker is hilariously real and sadly familiar all at once. Too many kids face the same problems as Karl. Not many of them, though, face them with such a relentlessly entertaining point of view. For a book that begins with a dead father, a might-as-well-be absentee mother, addiction and mental illness, Tales of the Madman Underground is a surprisingly upbeat and hopeful novel.

Well worth your time and money.