≫ Download How the Mistakes Were Made A Novel Tyler McMahon 9780312658540 Books

How the Mistakes Were Made A Novel Tyler McMahon 9780312658540 Books

Download As PDF : How the Mistakes Were Made A Novel Tyler McMahon 9780312658540 Books

How the Mistakes Were Made A Novel Tyler McMahon 9780312658540 Books

I tend to agree with many of the reviewers here that this book is sort of a hidden gem. However, there were some aspects of it that could have used some tightening up in order to improve its overall readability. This is the story of The Mistakes, a band started by a musician named Laura Loss who stumbles across two fledgling performers, Nathan and Sean, in a podunk town in Montana. Despite Laura's initial hesitance, the three seem to gel musically, which begins the journey of The Mistakes through highs and lows. The story of the current band is interspersed with flashbacks to Laura's first band, a punk rock trailblazer of a group that was led by her brother, Anthony.

The good parts of this book include what appears to be a real insider's view of creating music, recording, and touring. The characters are interesting, particularly Laura, who is quite frankly selfish, narcissistic, and nearly devoid of human compassion. I don't think we're supposed to like her, though we get some clues that help us understand her. She is a great representation of the dangers of fame and adoration.

For the first part of the book the plot clipped along nicely. Where I started to have a problem was about half of the way through the story, when the drama and hijinks just got a bit old and repetitive. In addition, there were some plot points that seemed superfluous to the story and didn't really move the plot forward. Because of this I wavered between 3 and 4 stars. In fact, I am still wavering, but given that I've spent a few days thinking about the book, I decided on 3 due to the fact that after a few days my overall impression hasn't improved much. The author is talented and I would buy future books from him, but this book sort of just petered out.


Tags : How the Mistakes Were Made: A Novel [Tyler McMahon] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Laura Loss came of age in the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s. The jailbait bass player in her brother Anthony’s band,Tyler McMahon,How the Mistakes Were Made: A Novel,St. Martin's Griffin,0312658540,Bildungsromans,Punk rock music,Punk rock music;Fiction.,Rock groups,Rock groups;Fiction.,Women rock musicians,Women rock musicians;Fiction.,American First Novelists,Coming of Age,Contemporary Women,FICTION Coming of Age,FICTION Women,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction : Coming of Age,FictionComing of Age,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

How the Mistakes Were Made A Novel Tyler McMahon 9780312658540 Books Reviews

Tyler McMahon's "Mistakes" will take you for a thrilling chromatic ride through the hardcore 80's punk scene and 90's rise of grunge from the eyes of a woman who's seen and done it all. The book plays as a highly entertaining read while striking deep philosophical chords that give you the experience of rising like a star and crashing like a meteor. It rings so authentic, that you almost feel you have no business gaining so much insight into such a heavily scrutinized often misunderstood reality of rock.

While I attempt to not mistake my own irrelevance for integrity, I'm sure we won't have to worry about that with the author's career as it skyrockets from this and many future successful novels.

A must read.
A great story about a woman, Laura Loss, who plays a pivotal role in two bands at the forefront of two major movements in rock history - hardcore punk and Seattle grunge. MacMahon does a great job of giving an insider's look at the music scene. The main story is about how Laura hooks up with two musical prodigies to form a grunge band. The back story is about her younger days as the little sister of a pioneer punk rocker. In both cases, Laura has to deal with the self-destructive impulses of her bandmates, their fans, and the perils of sudden fame.
I loved this book. It captured the essence of the spirit of punk rock so well. Although the band was fictional, they placed them at the height of Seattle grunge referencing relevant bands that gave it a realism or an almost historical fiction feel. They could of been any number of bands at the time, one hit wonders, bands destroyed quickly by excessive drug and alcohol usage or any other punk rock tragedy we all have heard. It felt so familiar. It reminded me of my younger years when I worked for local indie record labels in Chicago and the bands that came and went. Those who made it and those who didn't.

I found myself caring so much about the characters. It was so easy to get drawn it. Highly recommended to anyone who followed bands and music. Brought back so many memories of my own experiences.
I'm guessing that I love to read books about bands or the music industry because I'm such a huge music fan. Novels like Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad or Tom Perrotta's The Wishbones, or nonfiction like Peter Guralnick's books about Elvis, including the terrific Last Train to Memphis, have an added appeal because music truly captivates me. Tyler McMahon's How the Mistakes Were Made is a great addition to this genre, a tremendously compelling (if not entirely original) look at the powerful hold music and performing has on some people, and the relationships that get caught in the crossfire.

In the early 1980s, Laura Loss was known as the queen of hardcore punk, despite being under 18. The bassist for her brother's legendary band, Second Class Citizens, she traveled the country with the band as it made a name for itself, until punk's own fans detroyed her brother. Ten years later, in pre-grunge Seattle, she still lives on those memories, playing for a second-rate band, until she meets Nathan and Sean, two aspiring musicians from Montana in whom Laura recognizes exceptional genius. Under her tutelage, a new band, The Mistakes, is formed, and the three ride the rollercoaster of pursuing their dreams. Yet two of the key factors in the band's success--Sean's synesthesia (a blending of the senses that allows him to "see" the music) and the chemistry between the three of them--are both challenged as the band experiences a meteoric rise to success. Cutting between Laura's days in her brother's band and the day-to-day world of The Mistakes, this is a book about one woman's struggle to hold her life together for the second time as music once again threatens to tear it apart.

I stumbled across this book on , having heard nothing about it, and I really enjoyed it. While Laura isn't an altogether sympathetic character, her story and her experience in both bands are very compelling. And while the book never lost my interest (I read the entire book in about a day and a half), the relationship between Laura, Nathan, and Sean isn't particularly unique, and you can see what is going to happen pretty early on. But that doesn't take away from the emotions and raw drama that McMahon imbues the book with. This is a good, solid, entertaining read, particularly if you're interested in the music world.
I tend to agree with many of the reviewers here that this book is sort of a hidden gem. However, there were some aspects of it that could have used some tightening up in order to improve its overall readability. This is the story of The Mistakes, a band started by a musician named Laura Loss who stumbles across two fledgling performers, Nathan and Sean, in a podunk town in Montana. Despite Laura's initial hesitance, the three seem to gel musically, which begins the journey of The Mistakes through highs and lows. The story of the current band is interspersed with flashbacks to Laura's first band, a punk rock trailblazer of a group that was led by her brother, Anthony.

The good parts of this book include what appears to be a real insider's view of creating music, recording, and touring. The characters are interesting, particularly Laura, who is quite frankly selfish, narcissistic, and nearly devoid of human compassion. I don't think we're supposed to like her, though we get some clues that help us understand her. She is a great representation of the dangers of fame and adoration.

For the first part of the book the plot clipped along nicely. Where I started to have a problem was about half of the way through the story, when the drama and hijinks just got a bit old and repetitive. In addition, there were some plot points that seemed superfluous to the story and didn't really move the plot forward. Because of this I wavered between 3 and 4 stars. In fact, I am still wavering, but given that I've spent a few days thinking about the book, I decided on 3 due to the fact that after a few days my overall impression hasn't improved much. The author is talented and I would buy future books from him, but this book sort of just petered out.