Tales of the Madman Underground

Karl Shoemaker, a member of a school therapy group dubbed "the madman underground" by it's close-knit members, decides he is going to spend his senior year of high school in 1973 as a "normal" kid.

John Barnes tells the Madman Underground's story through Karl, a responsible young man with a mother who just can't seem to grow up. His father's death and his mother's subsequent antics have landed him a spot as one of the Madmen – a group of kids in the school's therapy program all dealing with issues of their own. The group of friends from all walks of life is unified by their "issues" and they depend on each other for support, and sometimes, for rescue. Barnes' narrative is smart, always funny, and often a little off-color. It deals show more with heavy topics, such as abuse, neglect, drugs and alcohol, molestation, and homosexuality, but does so in a way that feels natural and authentic. Because of the mature subject matter and the adult, sometimes vulgar language, this book is best suited for a high school library or the teen /young adult section of a public library. Although some of the issues may be unsettling, they are presented with enough humor and honesty (without being a “problem” novel) to draw in, rather than alienate, teens.

**on a strictly personal note, this was one of my very favorite young adult novels I have read in a very long time. It was so funny, engaging, and honest in it's portrayal of perceived "troubled" teen-dom without being a preachy, "problem" novel or feeling forced. Plus, it was just funny, and the characters were intensely likeable, even when they weren't. show less

In many ways this seems like the kind of book I don't usually enjoy. It's angsty teenage boy hormone-ridden realistic fiction. I have nothing against that kind of fiction, I just tend to prefer fantasy or science fiction. Somehow the narrator was so likeable in spite of some of his scarier thoughts or habits that I really enjoyed his story. The tales of woe, though realistic, could have made this an "issues" book, but that didn't happen because the characters were so well written and unpredictably human.

I don't even know where to start with this one.

Apparently the book got a lot of comparison with Catcher in the Rye which is at once wholly inaccurate and a perfect comparison. Firstly, the comparison with Catcher is largely because both books deal with a mostly crazy delinquent teen - the difference is that Karl Shoemaker is actually a narrator that you not only like, but also understand.

Secondly, the book is funny. Really, really funny. Laugh out loud funny. The humor, however, never quite detracts from the fact that the subject matter (alcoholism, incest, homosexuality, child-beatings, you know all that) is incredibly dark and poignant.

The most I can say about this book? Get it, read it, enjoy it, laugh and find yourself relating to show more it in spite of every attempt not to. The book was incredible. show less

Don't know what to make of this book. Picaresque very long story of a week in the life of a recovering-alcoholic and non-recovering-codependent boy in 1973. There's a lot of material about _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ and the n-word, so that makes me think John Barnes is saying that because this is a historical novel readers should be okay with seeing the words "f#ggot," "fairy," "h#mo," etc. every few pages and hearing the narrator's homophobic thoughts, because the book's virtue is hyper-realism, and anyway the gay character is the M/C's best friend although he does beat him up the one time. Same with word "r#tarded" on a smaller scale. I liked parts of this novel. It does feel very real. There are a lot of very flawed show more characters who have redeeming qualities. This is the 4th John Barnes book I have read and now I feel drained and have lost my enthusiasm for him, but your mileage may vary. I don't think this was quite the book for me. show less

Honest, raw, funny at times, while reading I often wanted to wring the mother's neck. I loved the ensemble of the Madman Underground, the high school therapy group that managed to include one of just about every kind of student group found in a high school.

This is such a long book I didn't think I would get through it so quickly but Karl was such an engaging narrator I just had to know what was going to happen next. Karl is starting his senior year in high school in a small town in Lightsburg, Ohio. He is part of the Madman Underground, a group of kids that have to skip class once every other week to meet with the school psychologist. You're teachers decide if you need to go to the psychologist and you go either because you appear to behave irrationally (violent fits or crying jags) or because something awful (a family member dies or gets taken away) happens to you. The Madman are all friends with each other and have developed a great support group but they mostly try to keep it hidden show more from the school. You get most of the groups history from Karl filling in Marti. Karl has five jobs and ever since his father passed away his mother has turned into an ufo conspiracy theorist alcoholic/pothead who routinely steals the money he earns working five jobs. The stories are funny and gut wrenching. All of the Madman Underground are smart and funny but they all have problems caused by abusive parents/family that don't take care of them at all. This book only covers 6 days but it feels like so much more then that because you get each kids history and a selection of madman incidents to help you learn about who they are. The kids have honest voices that are just so appealing. There is hope at the end of the book that the groups lot will improve. Their new psychologist has actually been a part of high school therapy group as a student and the adults in Karl's life start to try and help him get it together. show less

Karl Shoemaker, who has been a member of his school's therapy group (the "Madman Underground") ever since fourth grade, decides that he is going to be normal for his senior year. Well, actually, he decides he's going to be f---ing normal. Because, I'm going to be upfront about this, there is a lot of bad language in this book. Enough that I nearly put it down after the first chapter. I don't mind some bad language in a YA novel, but this seemed over the top to me. Anyhow, Karl's plan to be normal doesn't work out so well, but the book ends on a positive note in spite of that. If you like gritty, realistic YA fiction, this is a great book. After all, the story and characters were compelling enough to keep me reading past that impulse to show more put the book down. Still, it's not my usual cup of tea. show less