Love Songs of the Tone-Deaf

By Asher Brauner

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0967086108
• ISBN13: 9780967086101
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Brown Bear Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Brilliantly Balanced Writing

I thought this was a terrific book. It was a welcome surprise, considering the many novels I've encountered recently that seem to be written in English but never avail themselves of the richness of the language. Love Songs of the Tone-Deaf is rich with metaphors, plays on words, clever asides and witticisms. This does not mean it is just an experimental head-game, or a nonsense goof. It is a serious novel that doesn't take itself too seriously, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that.The book chiefly follows three characters: Ronnie, the protagonist, his girlfriend Karen, and his sister Eva. Each of these is well-drawn, mocked when appropriate, praised when they earn it, and growing and changing throughout.A proposal to start construction on an environmentally sensitive spot motivates Karen and thereby Ronnie into involvement in events greater than themselves. While the author gets it just right in mocking the excessive seriousness of the political crowd, this book lands squarely on the side of those who speak their minds against wrong.A terrific side plot reveals Eva as a troubled young woman whom no one seems to understand, least of all herself. This subplot was for me actually the most engaging story, a love story of sister and brother, which one doesn't see that often.Also mixed into the stew of this book is a meditation on the rights of Americans to the land we inhabit, given the little holocausts that were perpetrated to uproot the original inhabitants.All in all, a story concerning important contemporary topics, delivered in a non-stop wisecracking, laugh-out-loud manner that means (one hopes) that this author has much more to come.

tone-deaf is def

guarantee it right now -- you'll crack up at this very funny book. i don't know about you but if a novel describes all the stupidity i see around me and in myself then i'm pretty impressed. especially if added on is some excellent mystery-type tension. it reminds me of a cross between catcher in the rye and the movie fight club. the main character ronnie is typical guy except he isn't, because if you watch closely he changes right before your very eyes. great book!

Devastatingly witty tale of modern love.

The first thing you notice about "Love Songs for the Tone Deaf" is that it is wickedly funny. There are more insightful and slyly humorous observations in this book than I can begin to describe. A few of my favorites: the 4 species of hippie, ludicrous political correctness, the myriad failures of amorphous altruism. You can't read this book without laughing out loud. In addition to being very, very witty, Asher Brauner has brilliantly captured an entire generation of would-be radicals. The narrator, Ronnie, is reluctantly drawn into the world of campus politics by his hippie girlfriend, Karen. Even if you've never been to a campus protest or organized a petition (perhaps especially if you haven't done those things), you will recognize the well-meaning but essentially fad-ish campus radicals that are the target of the Ronnie's scathing contempt. In spite of himself, Ronnie becomes a leader of the cause and eventually even comes to support it. His journey from mocking outsider to unwilling hero is hysterical. Not surprisingly, his relationship with Karen changes as well - but not so much that they don't remain at the opposite ends of the optimism scale. In many ways this is a story about why opposites should attract one another. Anyone who's had a relationship with their polar opposite will relate to this book.

Real darn good

That rare gem -- a book that's real. I rate this book five stars because it's a good story, seemingly seamless, well-written, and never once made me whine about "people don't talk like that." A big thing for me, suffering as I do from being born without the "suspend-belief" gene, which makes me throw down a book in disgust as soon as the dialogue rings untrue. It's a lyrical story about learning: love, political protest, finding a meaning in life, etc., all the good stuff, told with a good measure of mildly sarcastic humor. A charmer. The book, not the protagonist, who is anything but. However, he grows on you and that's just the point. By the time he rides off into the sunset, you'll swear you're going to miss him.