The Hawkline Monster is Richard Brautigan's long and rather shaggy dog story that begins as a mildly amusing drunken joke.

As this farcical combination of the Western and Gothic genres progresses with its pared-down language, deliberate clichés, and increasingly absurd situations, an odd tension starts to build.

The little chuckles that initially escape soon turn into more sustained laughs, and may ultimately crescendo into a guffaw or two.

Brautigan tells this tale with his tongue firmly in his cheek, and one can almost envision the mischievous twinkle in his eye and taste the whiskey being passed around as he spins the yarn.

It's a unique and entertaining piece of literature that takes the reader on a wild and wacky journey through a world of unlikely characters and improbable events.

Despite its lighthearted and humorous nature, there is also a certain depth and charm to the story that keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end.

Whether you're a fan of Westerns, Gothic literature, or just a good laugh, The Hawkline Monster is definitely worth a read.

First Read (2016)
Five ironical stars for being so bad it's good. It's truly a remarkable piece that defies traditional expectations. At first glance, it might seem like a disaster, but upon closer inspection, there's a certain charm to its awfulness. It's as if it was crafted with a mischievous intention, making you simultaneously cringe and laugh. The flaws are so blatant and yet so endearing. It's a unique experience that leaves a lasting impression.

Second Read (2025)
Same! Even after all these years, the essence remains unchanged. It still manages to be both terrible and wonderful at the same time. The passage of time has not dimmed its allure. It's a testament to the power of something that is so delightfully bad. It continues to amuse and surprise, making you question your own standards of quality. It's a strange and wonderful anomaly that will always hold a special place in your literary memories.

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The Hawkline Monster Blues

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THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

Thud Whack Ping.

Thud Whack Ping.

Thud Whack Ping.

Thud Whack Ping.

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

Thud Whack Ping. rest.
Verse 1
La da da-da-da da.

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

Thud Whack Ping.

La da-da-da Da.

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

Thud Whack Ping.

Said, LA DA DA-DA-DA DA!

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

Thud Whack Ping.

LA DA-DA-DA DA!

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

LA DA DA-DA-DA DA DA...

rest.

LA-DA DA DA DA DA.

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

Thud Whack Ping. rest.

...

The repetitive sounds of "THUD" and "Thud Whack Ping" create a unique rhythm that seems to set the stage for an interesting musical piece. The pattern continues, almost like a drumbeat that keeps the listener engaged. The addition of the "Verse 1" label and the various "La da da-da-da da" and "LA DA DA-DA-DA DA!" phrases gives the impression of a song that is building up to something. The rests in between also add a sense of anticipation, as if the listener is waiting for the next part of the melody to unfold. Overall, this text has the makings of a catchy and perhaps even somewhat mysterious musical composition. It makes you wonder what the full song would sound like and what kind of story it would tell.

My first encounter with the renowned Mr. Richard Brautigan was a very touching one.

As far as I know, this book is not among his best works, but nevertheless, it was extraordinary.

The story was very clever, the writing style was extremely elegant and delicate, and the details that could be found in the text had a great impact on the reader.

The story was full of literary and imaginative expressions and descriptions, and the dreams and fantasies of Brautigan were unique, and I had rarely encountered such expressions before.

For example, one of the most beautiful sentences in the book that will surely remain in my mind for a long time:

The old man said, "Thank God..." The word "God" almost got lost in his throat. It was like the sound of sitting on an old chair.

The full name of the book, "Hawley's Party", is a Gothic Western, and it seems to be true to its name. Of course, one of the reasons why I might have been able to enjoy the book more and not struggle was that I had no complete familiarity with either of these two cultures, especially the Gothic culture. But all the reviews I read admitted that the elements of both genres were well-presented in the book.

"Hawley's Party" is a novel. A short and crazy novel. Towards the middle and near the end of the book, everything goes crazy. The events have no reason or logic, everything is strange and unusual in a strange and usual way. Something that I think is sometimes called magical realism. Brautigan is so ahead of his time in terms of the chaos and strangeness of the world that sometimes the world of the book takes on the form of a dream and becomes more like a vision than a story, although a very enjoyable vision.

But from the second half, the story takes on more of a narrative form and begins to argue for the strange events. It becomes more like a story than a vision, a literary work.

The descriptions are very clever and accurate, and like the pen and prose throughout the book, they are very poetic. This poetic element exists in all parts of the book and gives a visual appeal to the first half of the book, which is almost not a narrative or story.

This book is divided into three books called "Hawaii", "The Drowned Women of Hawley" and "Hawley's Party", and also into many chapters.

Perhaps the most important feature that attracted me to this book was its very special chapter divisions. Although the book has less than 200 pages, three pages are dedicated entirely to its table of contents. Each chapter is, on average, two pages long! The endings and beginnings in the text give a special charm to the book, secondly, they allow the author to use literary ellipses and concluding sentences, thirdly, they allow the author not to get involved in additional parts and only talk about the events and the environment to the extent that he deems necessary.

And fourthly, they give a strange cinematic form to the book. Cinematic not in the sense of accurate and realistic descriptions, changing the narrator and the camera according to the atmosphere of the story and so on. But in the sense of scenes, the scene-ness of the story. The content of each chapter has a lot of resemblance to a scene.

Its beginning, its content, its description and its end, and also its connection with the previous and subsequent scenes.

Overall, the book was extraordinary and memorable. Something that I may read many times.

I'm looking forward to reading your other and better works, Mr. Brautigan!

First published in 1974, this "Gothic Western" has endured as an offbeat classic.

Tim Burton almost directed a movie adaptation starring Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson. However, Eastwood backed out and Burton went with Mars Attacks! instead. It was a smart decision.

The Hawkline Monster is a story with its own problems. It fluctuates between pure spoof and legitimate horror. Most of the comedy comes from witty word choices and bizarre happenings. For example, there are characters with little respect for the dead, human transformation into inanimate objects, and impromptu sex spurred on by supernatural forces.

The horror elements are minimal. Yet, occasionally, there is a sense of unease from the mysterious ongoings about the remote house placed atop ice caves and inhabited by a monster. The title "Monster" is more of a psychological phenomenon than a creature to be feared. In this aspect, the story reminds me of Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation, if VanderMeer were writing for laughs.

Fans of Western tropes will no doubt find some hyper-masculine humor peppered throughout. Meanwhile, I struggled to spot commentary on Gothic motifs. Others have noticed them, though. Elsa J. Radcliffe, whose bibliography of Gothic novels published in the 1960s and '70s I greatly admire, actually gave this book high marks. She was picky, so this is rare. She described the book as a "naughty, satirical little venture" and predicted "any lover of Gothics who has a sense of humor should enjoy this farce."

I don't disagree with her. But I got my giggles more from the commentary on Westerns than on Gothics. Outside of a remote house with a spooky vibe, I didn't see any connection to the genre. Anyway, The Hawkline Monster is a novella that can be read quickly and will satisfy a craving for clever writing with immature, over-the-top adventures. As recently as 2020, there's been talk again of adapting it for film. With so much mystical imagery and fascinating juxtaposition, it might be crazy enough to work on film. We'll see if it ever happens!

My initial encounter with Richard Brautigan was far from pleasant. I had a strong aversion to A Confederate General from Big Sur. Karen had a similar negative reaction to her first Brautigan book. However, she was persuaded to give him another chance with this particular one, and I was assigned the task of borrowing it from the library for her. She read it and awarded it four stars. Since it was my responsibility to return it to the library and because she requested it, I decided to give Brautigan a second opportunity.

It was an okay read. I found it enjoyable and it was a quick read. I didn't have any adverse reactions like breaking out in hives from Brautigan's hip-counter cultural style. There is a distinctively 1970s feel to the book, and the sex aspects are a bit creepy in the way that was characteristic of that decade. Just the thought of being conceived in that era makes me feel a bit queasy at times. No wonder my generation grew up to be stereotypical asexual slackers in the early 1990s, considering the amount of ickiness during our formative years.

I have the impression that I've read this book before, although I can't recall which ones. The whole détournement of the Western and the myths of the American West, such as cowboys and Indians and all that, I know I've come across before. The only author I can confidently say I've read who also did this is Ishmael Reed, but there must have been others. The theme is interesting but not really groundbreaking or anything that really excites me. I can envision that in the 1960s - 1980s, when this theme was explored quite a bit, it was a sort of exorcism for authors and readers who had grown up immersed in the myths of the American West, like John Wayne and Gunsmoke. I only know the images and the movie scenes about the post-war period, but this was a time when little boys wanted to be cowboys and dressed up with plastic six shooters. I think these books are, in a way, an expression of grown-ups still grappling with the realization that their childhood dreams had a different reality than they had believed. But then again, I could just be making things up.

I liked this book well enough, but not enough to make me want to venture into what I imagine to be the dangerous, childish nihilism that most of Brautigan's other books are steeped in.

---------

Bonus rant:

My personal favorite détournement of the American West / whitey's relationship with those who were here before we arrived comes from the very un-Situationist Rush Limbaugh. He railed against the 'liberal' myths of conquest (you know, the killing of up to a million Native Americans in the name of Manifest Destiny) the day before Thanksgiving last year. In a rant that suspiciously resembled a Holocaust Revisionist claiming that six million Jews couldn't have been killed and anyone who said so was falling for a Zionist conspiracy, he was ranting and raving about some number that Ward Churchill had for the number of Native Americans killed. Limbaugh ranted about the number being inflated liberal nonsense, and then he had this gem (I wish I had the actual transcript to quote verbatim), even if we had killed (I'm making this number up, I forget what number Churchill stated and Limbaugh disputed) 20 million Indians, that is nothing compared to the number of Americans killed by the introduction of tobacco to pale faces. He added that he doesn't think that this means the Indians deserved to be killed off, but that they weren't the innocent victims they are made out to be. Ha! What a subversion of narratives for political purposes.

My first encounter with Brautigan was an interesting one. Although I already had one of his trilogy collections sitting in my stack, I wasn't quite ready to delve into it. So, when I came across this little volume, I quickly snatched it up.

It is a very light read, consisting of only about 150 pages or so. Brautigan employs a minimalist, pared-down language in this dark story, which makes it extremely easy to read. You could easily finish it in half a day. This style not only makes the reading experience effortless but also effectively sets the mood for the story through the eyes of the stark, simple, and no-nonsense gunslingers, Cameron and Greer. However, with Brautigan, don't mistake an easy read for a light one.

Billed as a "Gothic Western," which is a very fitting description, this is a turn-of-the-20th-century tale of two old west-style gunslingers who are approached by a mysterious Indian woman on behalf of the remote Miss Hawkline. They are offered a proposition to handle some business for her. The two gunslingers agree and travel to rural Oregon to meet Miss Hawkline. When they arrive, they learn of the disappearance of Miss Hawkline's father, who had been working on a strange experiment for the benefit of mankind known only as The Chemicals. Disaster has struck this experiment due to his disappearance and the emergence of the Ice Caves beneath the basement where he conducted his experiment, causing the house and its immediate surroundings to become blustery and freezing. Now, a monster residing in the Ice Caves is terrorizing the caretakers of the Hawkline Mansion both physically and in much more terrifying psychic forms. Can the gunslingers destroy the Hawkline Monster and restore things to the way they were?

Under the extremely allegorical storyline, we discover some interesting ideas. The question of the duality of events is very prominent in this story. There is always a division of good/bad, light/dark, him/her, and even him/him and her/her. Beyond that, the basic moral of the story, that lofty endeavors often go wrong, causing great devastation for future generations to deal with in picking up the pieces, seems undeniably clear to me. Also, that even in resolution, the story that follows is almost as bleak as the devastation that preceded it. Perhaps Brautigan is suggesting that for mankind, one bad deed leads to another.

I am looking forward to reading more of Brautigan's works. I may be disappointed if he uses the same minimalist writing style for other stories, unless it suits the mood as well as it does in this one. But for those who enjoy abstract, period-piece literature, this book is not to be missed!

**Original Article**: This is a simple article. It has a few sentences. It is about nothing special. Just a few words to say.

**Expanded Article**:
This is a rather simple article.

It consists of just a few sentences.

There is really nothing overly special about it.

It is merely a collection of a few words put together to convey a basic thought or idea.

Perhaps it doesn't have a profound meaning or a captivating story.

But sometimes, simplicity can also have its charm.

It can be a quick read that doesn't require too much effort or deep thinking.

Even though it may not be the most elaborate or exciting piece of writing, it still has its place.

It can serve as a starting point for further exploration or a brief moment of relaxation.

So, while it may not be a masterpiece, this simple article still has something to offer.

20 Stars!

My favorite Brautigan novel so far is truly a remarkable piece of work. It features the Hawkline sisters, who are two western hit men with their own unique charm and allure. Then there is the shadowy presence that looms over the story, adding an air of mystery and intrigue. The giant/dwarf butler is another fascinating character, bringing a touch of the extraordinary to the narrative. And let's not forget the elephant foot umbrella stand, which seems to be a strange yet captivating detail. This novel has all the elements that would make it a perfect fit for a Cohen brother's movie. The quirkiness, the dark humor, and the complex characters are all there. It's a story that would translate beautifully to the big screen, captivating audiences with its unique blend of genres and its unforgettable characters.

Books by Baratigan are always enjoyable and probably this is due to the smooth prose and the subtle satire he employs.

Perhaps this book is not Baratigan's best work and in some cases, the reader may get bored with the straightforward, unadorned, and uncomplicated plot and narrative. However, it has something to say and somehow my heart wants to relate "Hyla, Shadow, and the Icy Cave" to psychological themes.

Baratigan's writing style has a certain charm that keeps the reader engaged, even when the story may not be overly complex or exciting. His use of satire adds an interesting layer to the narrative, allowing for a deeper exploration of various topics.

Overall, while this particular book may not be a masterpiece, it still has its merits and is worth reading for those who appreciate Baratigan's unique literary voice.

Just like I always say,

whiskey solves everything.

Whiskey has this magical charm that can ease the stress and troubles of life. Whether it's a long and tiring day at work or a difficult situation that seems insurmountable, a glass of whiskey can work wonders. The smooth and warm liquid glides down the throat, instantly soothing the nerves and bringing a sense of relaxation. It has the power to make you forget about your problems, even if just for a little while. With its rich flavor and unique aroma, whiskey can transport you to a different world, a world where everything seems a little bit better. So, the next time you're facing a challenge or just need to unwind, reach for a bottle of whiskey and let its magic do the rest.

Western without equal!

History of the wild West with a lot of action and a very interesting plot!

It entertained me and I loved it!!!

Many congratulations to the Cybele editions for the care of the book.

This article seems to be a rave review of a Western-themed book. The reviewer emphasizes that the story is unique and exciting, filled with action and an engaging plot that kept them entertained from start to finish. They express their love for the book and offer congratulations to the publisher, Cybele editions, for their excellent work in producing and editing it. Overall, it's a positive endorsement that is likely to吸引 other readers interested in the Western genre.

Perhaps the book in question is a classic Western novel that has stood the test of time, or it could be a new release that has captured the reviewer's imagination. Either way, the review provides a tantalizing glimpse into the world of the wild West and makes the reader eager to pick up a copy and experience the adventure for themselves.