David Stuart MacLean's "How I Learned to Hate in Ohio" is a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of an oft-misunderstood corner of America. In his memoir, MacLean tells of his upbringing in a rural corner of Ohio and of a transformative friendship he forged during his formative years with a Sikh teenager.
While the setting and plot are unique and interesting, the pace of the memoir leaves the reader wanting a bit more. This is certainly a book I would pick up from time to time to read a few chapters here or there, but wasn't the page turner I was hoping for.

This book started out interesting and enjoyable but halfway through it became a drudgery to finish. The story takes such turns that one has trouble believing the story probable. I noted an error also. In chapter 12 he talks about watching tv al, day whilst being suspended from school, yet in chapter 18 he sits down at the party to watch tv since he doesn’t have one at home. Although a minor detail, it still was noticeable.

How I Learned to Hate in Ohio is not the book I expected it to be. I was most surprised by the pattern of zany, manic, ridiculous adventures that Barry finds himself in; and yet, there were moments of startling clarity amidst the chaos of the storyline. The writing style almost reminded me of Maria Semple's in 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette?' and 'Today Will Be Different', but with an very different focus.

This story centers around a high school freshman raised in central Ohio in the 1980s, where racism and homophobia abound. Barry, our main guy, is an intelligent yet little liked teenager with few friends. His entire life changes when a new student arrives in town, and I'll just leave it at that.

While more than occasionally uncomfortable to read, there are so many subtle layers to study in this story that I will be thinking about it for a very long time.

ok so: this book raises a lot of interesting questions. set in small-town america in the late-80s, we're introduced to an array of unlikeable and annoying characters. it doesn't quite detract from the story, but it definitely makes it a bit more difficult to read.

i understand what this book is trying to achieve, and i think it's something really good. not a lot of things really happen, now that i've had a chance to step back and think about what i've read. but its a consistent story about a too-clever (white) boy who doesn't like school, and his interactions with racism and homophobia in a narrow-minded, repressed environment. his parents suck. the off-beat pacing and the repetitive multitude of slurs make this book difficult to read, which i suppose was the point.

i will be interested to hear what more people think about this book, as i think it may just be something that didn't quite resonate with me. i think i'm coming to realise i just don't like reading first person books especially when the protagonist is a 14 year old boy, idk just personal preference lol.

anyway. 3-3.5 stars at this point. may require a reread at some point but not some point soon.

I'm a bit of a sucker for a good 'coming of age' novel, especially where there's an element of intrigue about who's who and why they do what they do. If it can also be set at a time I recognise well - I'm only a few years older than Barry, the main protagonist, then I'm happy to go back to an era without mobile phones and the internet when relationships were a lot more face-to-face than they are these days,

I very much enjoyed 'How I Learned to Hate in Ohio' and found lots of little details of the type that keep you thinking "This must be autobiographical" because it's just so well observed. It isn't - thank goodness, in view of some of the terrible things that happen. I wouldn't wish them on anybody.

It's the 1980s and Baruch (Barry) is about to start high school. He lives with his dad, a college philosophy professor, whilst his mum is mostly absent due to a globe-trotting job assessing potential sites all over the world for a famous hotel chain. Enter Gurbaksh (Gary) a Sikh boy with great social skills and street smarts who, rather than being the outsider, seems to be Barry's route to acceptance at school. Perhaps Gary and his dad, the larger than life and rather rude Mr Singh, have other motives in coming to the small town in Ohio but as far as Barry is concerned, he's got a friend and he's in with the in-crowd like he's never been before.

There's a great sense of time and place about this book which is never better expressed than in a powerful scene where the breakdown of the families is juxtaposed against the 1986 space shuttle disaster.

The issues of casual and not so casual racism and homophobia are complex. We have to remember this is set pre-Gulf Wars (1 and 2), pre-9/11 and at the time that AIDS was an emerging and poorly-understood threat. The book captures the time beautifully. Were people really that ignorant about religion in the 1980s? Of course, they were. And in many cases, they still are today. The redneck ignorance about Sikhism is so casually bitter and I found myself wondering what a bunch of Ohio rednecks thought they had to hate Muslims for so badly in the 1980s.

Racial violence is never justified. It's 100% wrong. What bugs me, and leave me wondering when I should be sleeping, is whether it can be worse if it's based on assumptions that are completely incorrect. If something is 100% wrong, can it be more than 100% wrong when it's steeped in simple ignorance? Earlier this year I read another book - Drowning Fish, by Swati Chanda - in which a Sikh character is attacked by men who take him for a Muslim. Part of me was thinking "This is massively ironic" but it wouldn't have been acceptable if it weren't a case of mistaken identity either. Can you be more wrong than completely wrong?

Lest you should think this all sounds a bit heavy, it's mostly not. The book drips in authenticity. When describing a bookstore that sells off cheap remainder books, Barry describes them as "shelter puppies waiting for the needle and I can't go in there but for wanting to rescue them all". Book lovers will recognise that feeling. Barry describes the girl he loved and lost as smelling "amazing, like a mixture of gym mats and jasmine".

And one final quote which is as funny as it's offensive and ironic, the response of a local man when told that Gary is a Sikh: ""Is that like Sunni or, what's that other one? Shih Tzu"" ""No,"" I answered, amazed that Randy knew so many sects of Islam. And dog breeds"

I recommend this highly. It's a quick read with messages that linger long after I finished reading.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley in return for a review.

This book is interesting. A very, very interesting story about a kid named Barry (Baruch) growing up in 80's Ohio.

I did not dislike the book. I did not hate the book. The narrative was intriguing, his Freshman year of High School was one of interesting comparison to The Great Gatsby. (The book, interestingly enough, almost seems to be a vague nod to it as well.)

It also has to do with race - systematic and inherited. Barry's friend is Gary. Throughout the book, Barry wishes that he was Gary with his way to seamlessly blend into any group and any conversation. However, when matters closer to home seem to unravel his desire for being Gary it makes him realize how different the two of them are and how wrong he was to think he was to envy him.

I feel this book will be of interest - there is going to be a discussion about it, and people may take it deeper than I did upon reading it. The bulk of the book seemed to build up to the last fourth, when shit so to speak hits the fan.

At times I think the narrative regarding racism was a bit surface thin and that there was a strange obsession with the lead character and I couldn't tell if the author was hinting that he may or may not be gay? It would certainly make the scenes and his 'nickname' take on a deeper meaning of focus.

The title of this novel drew me in and I enjoyed the coming of age saga of two friends with fathers not unlike each other in not fitting in. One was overbearing and embarrassing, the other unable to focus on his son and taking more notice of his past achievements and the waitress in the local diner. Somehow Gary takes on a popularity that baffles Barry - after all, he is a Sikh and wears a turban. They try to navigate a friendship with the awkwardness of adolescence and the lurching immaturity of their parents' mid-life crisis. Maclean drops hints that the issue of race is not far beneath the surface of these new friendships. Whilst Barry marvels at his new friend's popularity, his mother tries to hide her surprise that Gary is not white and clearly wishes that her son had picked a different friend to hang out with. Whilst it was written well, there were a couple of points in this book when I found it hard to continue. I warmed less to the character of Gary in the way he spoke about his female classmates and likewise watching the parents behave badly was a put off. It may have reflected on the issues of monogamy and race in the States but it made it a less than enjoyable read.

"No one leaves this world unsullied."

In late-1980s rural Ohio, bright but mostly friendless Barry Nadler begins his freshman year of high school with the goal of going unnoticed as much as possible. But his world is upended by the arrival of Gurbaksh, Gary for short, a Sikh teenager who moves to his small town and instantly befriends Barry. Through darkly comic and bitingly intelligent asides and wry observations, Barry reveals how the seeds of xenophobia and racism find fertile soil in this insular community, and in an easy, graceless, unintentional slide, tragedy unfolds.

How I Learned to Hate in Ohio was one of those reads that once I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading. Told through the biting perspective of 14-year old Barry, this book really makes you FEEL what it is like to be 14 and figuring out the senselessness of life. I felt for him through his struggles in high school, with friends, and his dysfunctional family. He observes and tries to take care of himself but the world is just too chaotic. Definitely a darker but good read and I could see it leading to good discussion with teenagers on racism, popularity, and bullying.

Definitely recommend! Thank you to #NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book! It comes out in January 2021! Get it on your TBR/Wish List now!

#HowILearnedToHateinOhio

An interesting story and some great writing here. It would be worth reading again just to take note of some of the lines and descriptions. This would be a very good book for a book group of adults and/or teens as it looks at how hate grows in a small town with some fairly quirky and memorable characters.

I was initially drawn to this book since it was about small town Ohio, similar to to town I grew up in. It is written beautifully and I really enjoyed the quick read. This book is set in the 80s discusses issues such as bullying, racism, and homophobia. Although, deep issues are addressed, it feels like a light read from the humorous and insightful view of a teenager.
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Thank you Netgalley and The Overlook Press for the ARC of this ebook.
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#howilearnedtohateinohio #netgalley #theoverlookpress #davidstuartmaclean #summerreads #kindleoasis #goodreads

I started reading this book, and I could not stop. I really need to read it again because this initial time through I just gobbled up the story as fast as I could. I'd like to read it again more slowly and stop to appreciate and think more about some of his descriptions and observations.

MacLean's writing is beautiful and creatively descriptive. The story is hilarious and insightful. It's also raw, crude, gritty and heartbreaking. There is bullying, racism, homophobia, and violence. Typically, I'd shy away from a book like this, but it's also just so darn funny, and creative and thoughtfully written. I will say no more so that readers can experience this book fully. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley for the Advance Reading Copy of this book. #HowILearnedtoHateinOhio