oct 1
2008

Owl

There are a hundred Klosterman interviews out there right now, but Steve's is the best. I'm going to grab this quote, even though only five people will know these North Dakota towns, including the one I grew up in: "[Owl] is sort of a synthesis of the cities that we talked about the most -- towns like Napoleon, Langdon, Munich, Thompson, Cando, Larimore, cities like that." Update: an unexpected rave from This Recording.

23 comments

So which one did you grow up in? (Holding breath.)

posted by stevemarsh at 4:10 PM on October 1, 2008

(Beginning to feel lightheaded.)

posted by stevemarsh at 4:19 PM on October 1, 2008

Napoleon. We were the Napoleon Imperials.

Geographically, it's approximately where Owl was set.

The book is amazingly accurate in the details of small small town life there.

posted by Rex at 4:25 PM on October 1, 2008

Wow. Let's get small small. Your DJ handle should be MC Kenna.

posted by stevemarsh at 4:44 PM on October 1, 2008

That's Napoleon, OH, which is about five times bigger than my hometown.

posted by Rex at 4:52 PM on October 1, 2008

The link was wrong. But I got the MC Kenna thing right.

posted by stevemarsh at 4:53 PM on October 1, 2008

You know how one of the idea in the book is about how everyone had a nickname in small towns? That's totally true -- and it includes the lakes. No one ever called it McKenna Lake -- it was West Lake.

posted by Rex at 5:02 PM on October 1, 2008

I totally forgot to ask Chuck what his nickname was.

posted by stevemarsh at 5:38 PM on October 1, 2008

The entire town in terrain view. Population: 800. It was 1200 when I left.

posted by Rex at 6:27 PM on October 1, 2008

What, no Gackle love? C'mon.

posted by chuckt at 6:40 PM on October 1, 2008

Also, having just learned that Gordon Kahl is mentioned in Downtown Owl, I might actually read the book.

posted by chuckt at 6:49 PM on October 1, 2008

Rex has already gone over this, CT: Streeter is mentioned in the book, but Gackle is full of country clubbers bloated on sugar beet money.

posted by stevemarsh at 6:55 PM on October 1, 2008

God, I wish I was from small town North Dakota. I would have a much more authentic, more bankable schtick!

posted by stevemarsh at 6:58 PM on October 1, 2008

Wow, my high school girlfriend was from Streeter and she went to school in Gackle. This is pretty surreal!

Me, Chuck, and Lora (the girlfriend) lived together in the summer of '92. Here's our accounts.

posted by Rex at 6:59 PM on October 1, 2008

Come on, tell one more Chuck and Rex story. Do you have an annotated version of the rival/nemesis essay somewhere in the archives?

posted by stevemarsh at 7:13 PM on October 1, 2008

Who the fuck is Steve Marsh?

posted by t at 7:37 PM on October 1, 2008

Second the call for annotated rival/nemesis.

I prepped myself last week for the novel by reading the first 10 links that come up for http://www.fimoculous.com/search.cfm?s=klosterman, so, thanks for that.

posted by alesh at 10:23 AM on October 2, 2008

Who the fuck is Steve Marsh?

posted by geoff at 10:53 AM on October 2, 2008

I was at that party.

posted by marrina at 12:09 PM on October 2, 2008

I haven't left that party.

posted by stevemarsh at 2:31 PM on October 2, 2008

I love your enthusiasm for our great state, boys. Small town North Dakota is the ultimate evolution of true American and NoDakian life. The clean air, the churchgoing, the drunken and pregnant youth. It doesn't get any better. North Dakota-where history comes alive.

posted by Gov John Hoeven at 5:29 PM on October 2, 2008

Who the fuck is Steve Marsh?

BEST PIC EVER!

posted by taulpaul at 6:30 PM on October 3, 2008

I was just thinking about how I introduced Rex to a former NoDak Legislator last time he was in town. I was kind of surreal on the hand off. I was like, "Oh, Rex is from North Dakota!" and both their eyes lit up. I'm not sure how the conversation ended up, as I walked away to talk K. Rose's ear off. Good thing he didn't bring body guards.

posted by taulpaul at 6:33 PM on October 3, 2008




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