Rocket Man

I really did like this book. I had sympathy for Dale because I saw some of him in me. Trying to make ends meet and forgetting about family and the things that matter the most. I was glad that it all worked out and that he stood up to the scout master that was more like an army officer. Second copy. Did not remember I had already read it. Different cover. ( )

Formula is there but writng & story just didn't do it for me. ( )

William Hazelgrove's novel, "Rocket Man", is reminiscent of Richard Russo's writing. Both portray the plight of the average man with irony and wit. Implicit in this shared motif, are the vagaries found within the American Dream. Broken men with disintegrating marriages, questionable parenting skills and diminishing incomes flavor their novels. How they depict this is unique to their individual and refined styles. Hazelgrove handles the subject eloquently. His adages are not a burden nor redundant. He depicts a "happy" ending without becoming trite or sugary. Where there is a deeper context that flows through Russo's writing, Hazelgrove's comes in a close second. Rocket Man is a thoughtful and entertaining read.

Received via LibraryThing Early Reviewer's ( )

Dale Hammer, the 46-year-old protagonist of the book, is a self-centered jerk -- a bit of a frat boy 25 years after he should have grown out of being a frat boy. The intended trajectory of the book appears to be as follows: At the beginning, the reader finds Dale's antics and irreverent attitude amusing (I didn't), then the reader realizes that the antics are a bit tiresome (check) then comes the emotional punch of the book and the meaning of life (a miss).

The book opens with Dale cutting across a field to get to Dairy Queen, an SUV-full of scouts in tow and a vodka-laced drink in his hand. This is supposed to highlight Dale's devil-may-care attitude. This attitude is further evidenced when he fights with his son's gym teacher, the school principal, and a crossing guard. Dale's also accused of cutting down the entrance sign to their suburban neighborhood, a sign he has vocally admitted hating (and a representation of the suburb he despises).

The title of the book refers to the annual scout rocket day, which Dale has volunteered to lead, making him the Rocket Man. Leading a scout function like this is atypical for Dale, but he wants to do it to get closer to his son, who he feels is moving away from him. It makes no sense, then, that as scout leaders call Dale (incessantly) to make sure he has ordered the rockets, learned how to work the rockets, etc, Dale just blows them off. But then, when someone tries to take Rocket Man away from him, he fights it, because he want to get close to his son. I figure this avoidance of his rocket man duties is supposed to signify Dale's inability to grow up and take responsibility, but no character can be this daft and stubborn.

The characters are difficult to attach to, most have little depth. There's Dale (or D.T. He refers to himself in the first person, or the third person by both names interchangeably). There's his son, Dale (or D.T Junior). There's his father, Dale (or D.T. Senior). I'll let you guess if this gets confusing in dialogue. His father is supposed to be the comic relief, a good ol' boy from Mississippi, but like every other supporting character he's basically a stereotype.

Dale's wife is hardly drawn. She's a lawyer who has chosen to stay at home to raise their kids. Dale is a novelist who hasn't been published in a decade. He does a bit of work-from-home mortgage underwriting on the side (he still considers himself a writer by profession), but with the housing bust he hasn't closed a mortgage in two months. When the Hammer's realize they can't pay their bills, it's difficult to feel bad when one of them could just consider getting a job.

The ending is sudden, illogically neat, and a 180-degree turn to the book so far. In five pages, Dale's life goes from falling apart to generally-content-ever-after-the-end. ( )

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. The characters were interesting, but frustrating. The main character seems to be one of those guys the media keeps calling "beta males" or "manchildren", in that he hasn't fully grown up, even though he has a family. He's depressed, or unsettled, but part of that seems to be from a failure to commit to actually being an adult. Perhaps, though, it's because he's living the life he feels he should be living, rather than the life he wants to be living. (For example, he bought a big house in the suburbs because that's what you're supposed to do when you're successful, not because he dreamt of block parties and barbecues).

All in all, not a bad choice for a summer read. ( )