Misadventures in the (213)

by Dennis Hensley

Book Overview

What Tales of the City did for San Francisco, Misadventures in the (213) does double for L.A. in this audacious, satirical tale of a struggling screenwriter, his media-whore best friend, and their circle of celebrity-seeking pals."(213)?" you'll likely ask.
Well, the area code, of course."Misadventures?"
Just the high jinks underemployed Tinseltown wannabes are usually up to. Like making off with fish from Tina Louise's koi pond. Or harassing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688171281
• ISBN13: 9780688171285
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Nonstop Fun

Screening Party was a recommended to me and after I finished that I HAD to read Misadventures. I wan't disappointed. It was so funny I could barely make it through a page without laughing out loud. Craig was completelely lovable and the people that surronded him were trippy and wonderful. It's a great book, especially for people who love movies, television, and the camp culture that's grown up around them.

You May Not Want To Read This One In Public

...because you will get some weird looks from strangers who see you laughing out loud (I drove most of the other passengers into different cars on a NYC subway while reading the "Aladdin" rug section). But while "Misadventures In The (213)" is quite possibly the funniest book I have ever read, that isn't the only reason I keep pulling it off the shelf to reread parts of it. The characters are so well drawn and interact so wonderfully with each other that I found myself longing to be a part of their circle of friends. They all get their share of hilarious one liners (while watching the movie "Babe"- "The proud farmer looks down at Babe and delivers the final line: "That'll do, pig". "Reminds me of the last time I had sex," says Claudia."), but there are a number of touching moments as well (Craig and Dandy's conversation after Craig catches Dandy with his ex-lover). I've read the book in it's entirety 2-3 times, as well as reading specific sections over and over, and each time I put it back in the bookcase wishing I could fly out to LA and join Craig, Dandy, and the rest of the gang in some of their 213 misadventures.

Where are my misadventures?

I used to read the column in DETOUR magazine, by the fictional Craig Clybourn, upon which the novel is based. Every month found me at the newstand, waiting for read more of the misadventures faces by Craig and Dandy, and their slew of friends. I was more than surprised to find the hardback, with all the columns finally pulled together to show a great effort in fun story telling. When I lived in Los Angeles, also in the 213, everything seemed possible; it was refreshing to read a novel in which everything (and everyone) became possible. My favorite parts of the novel involved Miles and the watermelon, Claudia and the Lost Hope chest, and Godfrey and the playground. It took me one day to read the book cover to cover; I still find myself opening the book to any random chapter throughout the year, just to laugh once again. Great book, and I do wish that Dennis Hensley would take time to write another novel!

A RIOT! (Does anyone know Craig's telephone number?)

I couldn't put this book down. I bought this book months ago after a friend recommended it to me. But I put it on my bookshelf and almost forgot about, until one night when I found myself looking for a book and came face-to-face with the flamboyant face on the cover staring at me. It seemed to scream: "Read me, dammit!" I flinched, and then I picked it up to read the first couple paragraphs...pages...chapters...(I completely forgot what I was looking for). It's been a while since I laughed through a whole book--I actually don't think I'd ever laughed through a whole book. MISADVENTURES cracked me up so much, I couldn' put the book down, and at one point I felt like a fool trying to hold back my guffaw on the subway--feeling like a bigger fool missing my stop (yet again). Dennis Hensley has a profound knowledge base of American pop culture; in fact, it's rather scary, in a "I-can't-believe-you-knew-that" sort of way, how entrenched this novel is in camp television/film culture. I loved it! You have to love Craig, the narrator of the story; and the supporting characters are all multidimensional...or should I say dysfunctional. The dialogue has got to be the best part of this novel. You can almost hear the characters talking. I'm going to get the audio version of this book just to hear Craig, et. al. This novel is too outrageous to be real, and just for that, it deserves to be read over and over and over again.

Kept me up three nights in a row!

I had to stuff a pillow in my mouth to keep my guffaws from waking the neighbours. While the book jacket foolishly compares this book to Tales of the City (I enjoy Maupin, but he is chuckle-inducing, not laugh out loud funny) the true comparison is with Joe Keenan's Blue Heaven. Joe is still my fave, but it's a pleasure to discover a writer who approaches his genius. I just pray the Mr. Hensley is more prolific than Mr. Keenan. Keep writing--I can't wait for the sequel. (And for goodness sake put some beefcake on the cover of the eventual paperback release. You have to catch the attention of your readers somehow.)