I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (authors, if you are looking for reviews, check here), and I freely chose to review an ARC copy of this novel. It came highly recommended, and it’s one of those books that I’m sure won’t leave anybody indifferent.

This is not a book heavy on plot. It is a novel narrated in the first person by a would-be writer stuck in writers’ block and seemingly unable to unleash the immense and unique talent for literature he believes he has. He uses all the tried and tested methods most readers will be familiar with (drinking heavily, navel-gazing, taking drugs, isolating himself, constantly trying to call the muses…) and some pretty unique ones (he is obsessed with submarines, and a particular Russian submarine disaster; he is also interested in air disasters; he has a penchant for peculiar interior decorating and a unique sense of fashion; he loves his fish and model-making [submarine again]). He adopts a variety of names and identities throughout the book, and seems intent on outraging and destroying things around him in frustration for not being able to create something, although when he dreams of literary fame, it isn’t what most people would think a writer would dream about.

Rather than helping, everything he tries seems to send him down a slippery slope of self-destruction (and a fair deal of vandalism and petty crime as well), and as readers, we are privileged witnesses of this journey towards… Well, if you read it you can decide by yourselves.

Although Bukowski has been mentioned in several reviews, the main character made me think of several books and authors I’ve read as well, some quite recently. He did remind me of the main character in Malibu Motel, who is so self-involved and unrealistic that he keeps digging holes for himself. Inkker (to give him one of his adopted names) has more insight (even if fleeting), and there is something more genuine about him, although he keeps it under wraps and well hidden. It also reminded me of Eileen and other protagonists of Ottessa Moshfegh’s work, but her characters are more extreme and even though less likeable, we normally get more of a background and a better understanding of where they are coming from. And, the way Inkker’s angry simmers and boils until it explodes in outrage, reminded me of a fantastic essay I read many years back by John Waters (the film director) called ‘101 Things I Hate’ published in his collection Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters. What starts like a list of annoying things Waters is sharing with us, gets more and more outrageous as he gets more and more irate, and you can hear him shouting at you from the page by the end. It’s impossible not to nod and agree at many of the items on the list, but there is something at the same time darkly funny and scary in the way his emotions run so raw and close to the surface.

The book is beautifully observed and written, although, of course, it being in the first-person and the narrator a pretty unreliable one, we have to take all his comments and his opinions with a huge pinch of salt, and that goes for his depiction of other characters (and there are a few: an indie writer —of all things— and his girlfriend, an elderly neighbour, the guests at a disastrous dinner party, the locals at a pub, a couple of women, one he had a one-night-stand with and one he goes on a date with…). As you might suspect from the description, he is not particularly skilled in the social graces either and that results in some scenes that feel like watching a train wreck. It’s impossible to look away even when you know it’s going to get ugly, and I’m sure some of them will remain imprinted in the minds of readers for a long time.

Rum Hijack, which was first published in two separate parts, is darkly comedic (his quips at most writers, especially at self-published ones, will be ‘appreciated’ by those in the profession although perhaps not so much by readers not familiar with Twitter or with indie authors’ marketing techniques), and although in the face of it there is nothing particularly endearing about the protagonist, there is such vulnerability, such contradictions (he is reckless but careful, anarchic but worried about getting caught, a self-proclaimed outsider but eager to be admired and loved),  such need, and such self-loathing behind many of his actions that it’s impossible not to keep reading about his adventures and hope that things might take a turn for the better.

This is not a book for readers eager for adventure and action, who love a complex plot and consistent characters. It is not for those who dislike first-person narrations or prefer clean, edifying and inspiring plots and messages. If you enjoy literary fiction, books about writing (or writers’ block), are eager to find new voices, and love your humour very dark, check a sample of this book. You will either love it or hate it (yes, it’s a marmite kind of book). It’s up to you.

Oh, as a clarification to readers here on Booklikes, my review refers to the whole novel, not only to part one. It's called Rum Hijack, and I couldn't find it here.

Recently, John Waters was asked to give a commencement speech at The Rhode Island School of Design.  He turned that speech into a book, which I heard about on NPR.  I rarely listen to it, but my family does, and I join in when they do it in the house.  

The interview was interesting, but I was most interested in getting my grubby little hands on this book.   My family also likes lounging in Barnes and Noble, and we did so today.  I ended up picking up Make Trouble and reading it in ten minutes; this wasn't a long speech, and it didn't make a long book.   That, however, made it no less self-aware and charming.   John Waters is not only aware of his own faults, he is unabashedly honest about them, injecting some self-deprecating humor into this book.   He talks about wealth, but never in terms of money: he talks about wealth in terms of being his own boss, living life on his own terms, and finding ways to avoid assholes in all walks of life, personal and professional. 

He talks about what it takes to be an artist, without crushing dreams, nor with a false promise of success.   Try.   Know you have talent, work at it, and stir things up: look at what was done before, and do something that spits in the eye of that, just to see where it gets you.   Question everything.   Read, watch movies, learn about culture not just by doing but by inhaling that culture.  

Also, he talks about parents and their children.  How children can be brats, and how parents can close themselves off to their children's eccentricities.   But be patient, try, and he tells the parents to accept the children as they are, and for the children not to blame their parents for everything.   Everyone is dealt a hand in life, and we deal with it, he says.   (In this context, I think it's about just that: not blaming your parents for absolutely everything and getting on with your life.)

And if the text, and the amazing amount that Waters conveys in such a short time, isn't enough to convince anyone to read this, the illustrations - done in the grotesque style when illustrating Waters, or the world ,and otherwise abstract to mimic the words on the page - are just absolutely gorgeous - and again, charming.   I'd loved Waters, even if I wasn't a devotee.  I had a healthy appreciation for his movies, and more than that, I loved the way he just completely accepted himself, while tipping his hat to the little weirdo he was.   (And being a little weirdo myself, I say that with much warmth.)   This, though, this was breathtaking.   And, yeah, I love him a little more for giving this speech and writing this book.

I finished reading Car Sick by John Waters and loved it!  OH his wicked pervy twisted mind created hilarious and grotesque fictional rides then told the real rides it took him to get coast to coast.  He explains in his clever and cunning ways each ride he took and how it relates to present day, his experiences of the past, the wondering of the mind and other little quirks of himself and of traveling in general. 

I am now at the part of the book of the real rides.  Previous pages were fictitious of the good and bad that he dreamed of which was really funny, creepy, gross, and good! lol.  His first real ride is such a simple act of kindness that puts a smile on your face.  Im ready to read the of the real rides and hope they offer more smiles or topics of debate and reasoning of their thinking.  

I am currently reading this book but I think he should make this a movie!  Only his wild creative mind could come up with these scenarios of what he does or doesnt want to face while hitch hiking lol.