Our Noise

I too fail to understand criticism of this book. There is no truer or more accurate presentation of the mores, values and thoughts of what has come to be known as "generation x" but which was called by its members twentynothings. it seems to bother the critical most that the characters are lazy and self-absorbed. well we are. His most valuable insight is that there is no link between effort and reward. you can try your best and in the end it might not mean anything at all. this is true and people who don't like this uncomfortable truth should probably stick with books like Lassie, where poor Bobby is always rescued from the well he stupidly fell into. Or any book where a spunky and determined boy makes good. in real life, as in this book, it ain't that simple and Gomez should be applauded for pointing this out. anyway i have noticed that people who don't like the book seemingly had no trouble finishing it anyway. that says all you need to know.

If this book was a film it would be Ted Demmes Beautiful Girls. Utterly pointless, dull at first, but leaves you feeling somewhat content, mildly depressed and joyfull that your life is surely better than the lifes that Gomez intellegently writes about. Each character has some pecadilos that we can all identify with, and more worryingly they are the people we would of been had we not made certain good/bad life decisions. It made me think about my own current situation, and any book that can do that is well worth reading. Gomez has a talent for observing peoples actions and thoughts and more importantly writting them down in a coherant way. This book has no real plot, just reflections on current situations that we all come across. It stays away from the Gen-X sterotype as much as book of this nature can, and although some may accuse it of being a Gen-X hang on, I think they just missed the point by a mile. Oh yea, Mr Gomez has kick-ass music tastes.

This is the first book that i have ever read that accurately captures the mood of my generation, namely the indie rock subculture. I liked that I could relate to just about everything that each of the characters went through... I could probably name someone I know that mirrors each of the characters, and at the same time, I see bits myself in each of them. I stumbled upon this book at a great time, as I am a recent art school grad living in a small town with no job! OUR NOISE gave me the opportunity to read about kids in my same situation. And I really enjoyed all of the music references...it made it all the more realistic. Basically, years from now, i can show this book to my kids (or someone else's!!) and say, "this is what it was like when i was 24!" This book hit home.

I like the way Jeff sets up situations for his characters in this novel, making it fresh, witty, entertaining & truthful at the same time. Good Work !!

I read this after I graduated,but before I got a job - it made me feel like it was ok to be laying around listening to music and drinking all the time. I enjoyed it emmensely, as I felt like it was one of them. Two beers up