The Haters (2016)Jesse Andrews
Allen and Unwin, paperback
NZ$23
Don’t
judge this witty coming-of-age novel by its title.
Two woebegone music geeks,
Wes (bass) and Corey (drums), find their love for their favourite musicians
soon turns to loathing. “We’re expert well-poisoners,” sighs Wes, who provides
a wryly funny account of what happens to their “doggy, brotherly bond,” when
the well-heeled and volatile Ash (guitar) sweeps into their lives.
Ash
liberates the gawky sidekicks from a boring jazz camp and takes them on an
amazing road trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. They battle to agree on a
name or a musical style – “We’re a blues roots punk power trio,” says Corey,
hopefully. – or even to find somewhere to perform. The Haters’ first venue is a restaurant which
Wes compares to “a Chinese prison cafeteria.”
Jesse
Andrews is a great writer for older teens as well as any adults who appreciate
good stories. All the characters, even the herbs and scumbags, are interesting.
Even God has a walk-on part, calling the runaways “MY CHOSEN BAND.”
Trevor Agnew
This review was first published in Your Weekend (Fairfax) 14 April 2016
Full publishing details:
The Haters (2016)
Jesse Andrews
Allen& Unwin, 325 pages
paperback, NZ$23
ISBN 978 1 76029 189 1
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