Begin to Exit Here

By John Welter

Book Overview

Repeatedly fired from newspaper jobs for his inability to keep his mouth shut, reporter Kurt Clausen lands a position with the News-Dispatch, where he takes on the Ku Klux Klan, vegetarians, fundamentalists, and golf course developers.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425162621
• ISBN13: 9780425162620
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Funny and poignant

I'd read one other book by Welter, I Want to Buy a Vowel, which I had enjoyed, so I decided to try this one. I haven't tried his Night of the Avenging Blowfish yet, but that's next.I enjoyed this book also. The main character is a grumpy (although he's still very young), iconoclastic journalist by the name of Kurt, who despises the standard, boring reportage he feels most newspapers turn out. Some of the best parts of the book are when Kurt is ranting about what's wrong with modern-day journalism. For example, he remarks at one point that there is no story so exciting and vital that standard newspaper reportage can't turn it into just another bloodless, boring story. To Kurt, most newspapers are little better than straight-up fish-wrap.Kurt doesn't want to be just another reporter cranking out the same tripe over and over, and that's where he gets into trouble. Kurt's witty, ironic, and irreverent approach causes him to continually run afoul of his chief editor, who doesn't understand why Kurt can't just write like everybody else and not make waves.Welter's I Want to Buy a Vowel had a sweetly surrealistic quality reminiscent of a Frank Capra film (such as It's a Wonderful Life). And some of that quality is evident here also, especially in the dialog between Kurt and his girlfriend. Their relationship is well-developed and is a nice touch in the book, as they banter playfully back and forth, talking about life, love, and the trials and tribulations of the newspaper business, at which, as I mentioned before, Kurt levels some trenchant and funny broadsides.I think you'll enjoy this book. You won't find it full of belly laughs like a Hiaasen or Chris Moore book, but Welter isn't really going for that sort of thing. Rather, his books have both a sweet and sad quality combined with an ironic wit that ranges from gentle to outright vicious. He has his own unique voice and is worth reading if only for that.

The ONLY way to make it through a night at Copy Club.

I didn't expect much from this book, but it has found itsway into my collection of favorites. The protagonist's angstregarding his love interest and his career were tempered by the author's wry sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed every page, and am on my way to the bookstore right now to pick up Welter's next two novels. END

Fantastic Angst

I discovered this author a while ago and found this book after reading "Night of the Avenging Blowfish". I found this book to be fun, interesting and poignant. The dialogue is surrealistically witty, but so over the top that you don't think in terms of reality. The hero, a newspaper reporter who will not stick to the accepted mode of writing, finds conflict between the love of his life and his love of being outside the mode. I loved this book, its sweetness, its wit, and its feeling. It is satire without the bitterness or dirt that has permeated the art. One of the best stories I have read in years.

Welter's first novel is wonderful read for newspaper fans.

Welter deals with the conflict between literature and the popular press in a stylistic way. His protaganist constantly questions his usefullness as a reporter while churning out great copy.The book is wonderfully funny.

Quirky quips mask Kurt's internal struggle

As a former small-town journalist, I found myself identifying with Kurt during many of the newsroom scenes -- I only wish the stories I covered had been half as interesting! While the main thrust of the novel is its quips and quirky humor, Kurt's jokes are a symptom of his self-destructiveness. A recovering alcoholic, he searches for new ways to lash out at himself, which include sarcastic comments and pranks that get him fired from one job and nearly lose him his girlfriend as well. While not as hilarious and intricately plotted as "Night of the Avenging Blowfish" (which would earn a 10 in my book), "Begin to Exit Here" is a warm, amusing novel about one man's quest for something meaningful to fill his boring life.