The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A Story Full of Laughter, Tears & Dreams
Review: When Canny Paxton was recovering in the VA from the fall from a helicopter that cost him the use of his legs in Vietnam, he was planning the diner that he would shut himself in back in his hometown in Oklahoma. He was going to call it the "Honk and Holler "as the place was going to have drive in service with carhops. However he and a friend got drunk and when they ordered the sign, they thought appending the words Opening Soon would be a good idea. That way passing motorists would see the sign and anticipate the opening. However it's years later and those words are still there, so the official name of Canny's diner is "The Honk and Holler Opening Soon".

The sign is faded now, as is Canny's life. He's not been outside of his diner since it opened twelve years ago. He lives and sleeps in an attached apartment. Every day is the same. Same food, same customers, same sunrise, same sunset. Then one day at Christmastime Vena Takes Horse comes through the front door with a half dead three-legged dog tucked under her arm. She sees a years-old faded notice for a carhop on the bulletinboard and though the diner hasn't had outdoor service for years, she starts working for tips only. She makes eleven dollars that first day and though she was just passing through, she stays on.

Then Bui Khanh, a wounded and damaged soul on the run comes by with his clunker of a car. He's Vietnamese, barely speaks English and sleeps unknown in the church down the road at night. He claims he's a cook, Canny says he doesn't need one and Bui starts working anyway. He doesn't understand Canny doesn't want him and Canny can't bring himself to make himself understood.

It seems everybody in town is just going through life's motions. Same old, same old, day in and day out, until these two show up, lost souls on the move, just stopped by for awhile. But the way they change the great and colorful characters in Ms. Letts' wonderful story will move you to laughter and tears again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Down-to-earth story for real people...
Review: I don't like the typical 'chick book,' dripping with sex, billed as 'romance.' To me, these books are no more than soft (and frequently hard) porn cop-outs for writers in order to make easy bucks for women's fiction genre. Admittedly, many writers do great research for their historical and geographical topics, in spite of the fact that many of the plots are not terribly realistic (but sometimes great fun).

After my husband dragged one book after another from the rack at the drug store thinking I would like romantic genre, I declined, bored with the 'same old-same old.' But when I saw Billie's novel on the rack with a picture of the vintage pickup truck parked outside a diner somewhere on one of America's back roads or highways on the front cover of her book, I was compelled to pick it up. It evoked memories of countless road trips and meals at old diners with our family when we were children, and the very same old pickup truck my fondly remembered Daddy used to give us rides in the back of when we were kids, looking like what Mama called 'orphans' with our long tangled hair from the windy rides.

The book was every bit as good as I had hoped...every character with their problems and blessings as real as life itself. With no glittery coating in this story, it speaks to the heart of those of us living commonly 'realistic' lives.

And what is better than finding romance in the crazy and mixed up mess that makes up life? Billie shows that in all the eccentricities that salt-of-the-earth folk usually have, it is 'love' that brings life's chaos into a cohesive order, and it is 'love' that is the glue that binds neighbors and friends into 'family.'

Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised
Review: Quite a few years ago in my quest to stay with Oprah and her book club, I read 'where the heart is' by Billie Letts. I was very disappointed and gave up half way through. Of course, my mind is more open to different kinds of books now. "The Honk and Holler Opening soon" was a gift I got recently, and of course, I was a bit hesitant to read it after the first book experience.
It came highly recommended by someone who's opinion I truly value, and I quickly got into it. Billie Letts' characters are all very realistically drawn out and while it wasn't a plot driven as some people may want it to be, it had a certain charm all it's own as one of those "slice of life" type books.
It's as if I was peering into the "Honk & Holler" itself stealing a glance and listen at other's people's lives.
My whole image of Letts is completely blown out of the water, and I am now a fan of her work. I am glad I gave her a second chance with this little book.
Like I said, it's got a plot but I really think it's more about fleshing out the characters like Caney, Vena, Molly O, and Bui.
All from different walks of life and backgrounds, they come together to teach an important lesson in how you don't have to be related to be a family.

Eileen F.

Rating:
Summary: I embraced these characters!
Review: It took me less than 12 hours to read this book. I could not put it down. I was first drawn to it by the author, since I am a fan of both the book and movie, Where The Heart Is. Plus, as a displaced Sooner, reading books that take place in Oklahoma is a passion of mine. I was truly drawn into the story from the first chapter, and it only got better with the turn of each page and the further delving into the character studies. Billie Letts has a way of drawing you into the lives of these folks...so much so, that I wanted to live in the town and share the lives of these characters. What more can you ask from a good story?

Rating:
Summary: Book is ok, but short of opening something.
Review: The Honk and Holler Opening Soon is about four misfits who all work together in a rundown café. They all have very unique personalities that change each other and their surroundings. Each of them is haunted by their past and that's what makes them so who they are. Some of their qualities open each other, others cause them to become more passive and aggressive.
Vena and Bui are two outsiders that eventually acquire jobs at the Honk. Vena traveled all over the states from fear of people loving her. She just always ran away. Bui came from Vietnam and was trying to raise money and get a house for his wife to come be with him. Caney and Molly O have lived in Sequoyah, where the Honk is, their whole lives. Caney grew up under the roof of Molly O so they're very close. Caney went into to the Vietnam war and was paralyzed waist down. Molly O being like a mother cared for him.
When Bui and Vena start work at the Honk Caney knew they would change his life. Some changes were good and other bad. The two brought in more customers and Caney acquired new friendships. Vena also opened up a part of Caney he never thought he could get back again. Bui caused some trouble because not all of the public approved of a Vietnamese working at the Honk. That didn't stop Caney from keeping him around though.
The four characters go through much turmoil. Molly O has a daughter who can't stay home and steals. Bui doesn't fully get the American concept. Vena is in the search of how her sister died, and can't stay in one place long. And Caney is afraid to open up after his Vietnam experience. A friend of Bui's said a bible verse in the book, "Behold, I shrew upon you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." That fits all of the characters perfectly.
Overall the book was great. Some points left me wondering though. You couldn't fully understand the characters. An experience would mean something to them but you couldn't quite feel their emotion in it. Were they happy or sad. Also in the beginning it skipped around too much. Eventually, all the characters tied together, but it took a while.