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Now Is the Hour [Hardcover]

Tom Spanbauer
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Book Description

26 July 2007

Now Is the Hour is the first major novel by Tom Spanbauer since The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon in 1991. That novel became a cult classic; this one is destined to do the same.

The year is 1967 and Rigby John Klusener, seventeen years old and finally leaving his home and family in Pocatello, Idaho, is on the highway with his thumb out and a flower behind his ear, headed for San Francisco. Now Is the Hour is the story of how Rigby John got to this point. It traces his gradual emancipation from the repressions of a strictly religious farming family and from the small-minded, bigoted community in which he has grown up in a time of explosive cultural change. Transforming this familiar journey from American Graffiti to On the Road into something rich and strange and hilarious is the persona of Rigby John himself. Intimately in touch with his fears, hesitantly awaking to his own sexuality, and palpably open to life's mysteries, Rigby John is utterly real and totally unforgettable.

Now Is the Hour is a triumphant return by one of America's finest novelists.



Product details

  • Hardcover: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Jonathan Cape (26 July 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0224080490
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224080491
  • Product Dimensions: 16.4 x 3.7 x 24.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,160,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'An enjoyable and rewarding book'. -- Big Issue

'A quintessential American tale of emancipation...Spanbauer both
ironises and embraces the classic American tropes his story draws on.' -- Metro

'Strikingly beautiful writing.'
-- The List

'a Gem'
-- Gay Times, rev'd by Jan Cooper

A `powerful tale...funny, sensitive picture of a young man whose
plight will resonate with your inner idealist.'
-- Dazed and Confused

`Spanbauer's rhythmic, lyrical prose is so utterly beguiling that the reader is drawn irrevocably into Rigby's world'
-- Attitude Magazine

Book Description

Triumphant return from the author of cult classic The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully human story 12 Sep 2007
By suzyh
Format:Paperback
This book shares much in its style and imagery with "The man who fell in love with the moon" but is probably more immediately accessible. The imagery is rooted in nature.The contrast of dry, hot and dusty with wet, cool and sensual is a reccuring theme which also reflects the different types of spirituality explored.Rigby John is a immensely likeable hero caught between what adults have told him and what the world teaches him.All the characters are well developed and although flawed, like his mom, very human. The plot is quite circular and with each sweep through it more detail is revealed as layers of the narrative are unpeeled.A very satisfying read
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER GEM!!! 20 Jan 2008
Format:Hardcover
Tom Spanbauer is one of the greatest writers of the gay world/experience although he is not as prolific as some others. I have been waiting for a new Spanbauer for years. If you have read the beautiful MAN WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE MOON you are going to love this novel.
Not as sweeping and mythical as MAN this novel centres it's attention on one family and the ultimate search of the hero, Rigby John Klusener for his right to love and live the way he wishes to and not the way prescribed by society, religion, his peer group and family.
This is a novel peopled with flawed but beautifully crafted characters. Spanbauer has this knack of being able to make you empathise and understand characters even if they ultimately repulse you.
The joy of this novel is the voice of the narrator, Rigby, becoming stronger and stronger as the novel progresses until you are left rooting for his escape, rooting for his freedom and for the uncertain future he faces.
I loved this book. If you have never read Spanbauer before give his unique voice a try. The gay world needs more writers like this.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing and compelling 6 Feb 2008
Format:Hardcover
I picked this book up in my local library as I liked the cover (I know, how shallow...)and had never actually heard of the author. By the second chapter I was intrigued; Spanbauer has a knack of making his characters almost come off the page. The intricate detailing and growth of the story made it an absolutely riveting read.

I had absolutely nothing in common with the main character in this book; male, gay, american, etc but, through Spanbauer's skills, I crept into his life and watched it unfurl.

A wonderful and absorbing book, I couldn't put it down but didn't want it to end. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have read in years
I finished this book today and am moved to write a review straight away. It enjoyed it so much I am going to re-read it again very soon. Read more
Published 18 months ago by P. Eaglen
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read - well worth it
I would say that like most great books this is not an easy read. It takes a little while into the book before you enter the characters world so completely that it makes sense to... Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2011 by Joe N
5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer delight
Young Rigby John Kluesener commences telling his story as he is hitch-hiking on the road from Idaho to San Francisco, and in so doing goes back to the 1950s and his earlier... Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2010 by Benjamin
1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing
When deciding to buy this book I was influenced by the strong positive reviews from Amazon readers. Having read it, I can only imagine that these people must have read a different... Read more
Published on 26 April 2009 by John Mason
4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book with an emotional roller coaster at the end...
Utterly absorbing book, brilliantly narrated by `Rigby John' who is growing up in small town America, he's slowly working out who he is, and finding his own voice and path. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2009 by M B
5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid colour in a monochrome world
There's not a breath of air in the narration of Rigby John Kluesener - every single minute description glows and throbs with shared meaning. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2009 by Daniel Park
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW...
I give this book 6 stars! I don't give 5 stars often and this is my first 6... You can't give 6 stars? So what do I care...

It's brilliant! Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2009 by Jeep Tenk
5.0 out of 5 stars tom comes trumps again
i've read tom spanbauer since his novel the man who fell in love with the moon. this new novel shows no lagging in his innovative, deeply felt writing. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2006 by S. Egan
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