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List Price: $22.99 | | Publisher: Center Street
Salesrank: 338357
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
Exclusive CD! Brooks & Dunn's "Gotta Get Me One of Those" inside!
Musicians by trade, Slim and Howdy have each come to a figurative crossroads in their lives. As fate would have it, they meet at these crossroads, never realizing it's a turning point in their lives. Forced by circumstances to share a truck, they take to the road in pursuit of a common goal--to make it as musicians on the country music circuit.
But it seems no matter where these two travel, trouble finds them. Whether it's turning the tables on a crooked card shark who takes everything they have, or fending off the raging boyfriend of that friendly gal from last night, the guys are constantly needing to outwit the world. And when their friend and boss Jodie Lee disappears, their resourcefulness will truly be tested. Each of the guys has his theory, but they'll need to work together to get to their friend before time runs out.
The Adventures of Slim & Howdy: A Novel Reviews:
A GREAT READ...... 
2009-12-08 - Enjoyed it, funny, witty, good story line, great charactars but the reason it didn't get a 5 is because some places were a bit wordy. I do hope they continue writing about Slim and Howdy.
Put on your Cowboy Hat and Enjoy the Ride! 
2009-07-05 - This western comedy mystery gallops across the cultural landscape and dry gullies of Texas, carrying the reader on an hilarious, insightful, rollicking tale about the school of hard knocks that is the world in which our courageous and clever singing cowboy heroes thrive. The plot line concludes with a smokin', car jumpin', gun blazin' shoot out, where we are reminded of the importance of family and great friendships, and the sun-dried heart strings of an aging cowboy are strummed by prospects of love. This is a entertaining novel whose endearing characters cry out for more adventures in a sequel (hint-hint).
The Everyman heroes of this ballad of a book, Slim and Howdy (who are the alter-egos for real-life country music heroes, Dunn and Brooks, as developed in the album jackets of their music), meet when they are down on their luck and in search of a new ride. From the time Slim and Howdy bump into each other at Red's used car lot in Beaumont, TX, a classy used car joint where "Red was always quick to throw in a clean cardboard box to catch the oil drips," a firm bond and partnership was forged. Slim and Howdy - who were both trying to work a deal with Red, sized each other up like this: "Slim took as a good sign...that Howdy had a guitar and nice saddle....he reminded Slim of Frank Zappa with a cowboy hat." For Howdy's part, Slim had an "easy-going confidence." "So they decided to share a ride for a while, "partner up, as it were." Slim and Howdy discover that both have worked many a hard job, but as Howdy says for them both (which sure sounds like Dunn and
Brooks talking to us about their career philosophy), " I know I'd rather earn a living with my music. I'd rather call a honky-tonk my office and have my workday start at night...You gotta get out there and do your thing. Put your stuff on the front porch where folks can see it. Get up on a stage and somewhere and sing, show 'em what you can do. Tell 'em what's in your heart. Then you at least got a chance." Of course, entertaining and drinking ain't always easy on our boys. After one hard night, Slim "sat on the edge of the bed rubbing his eyes and working his moldy sock of a tongue like a cow chewing its cud. After a second, he blinked a few times and croaked..."
Speaking of real life careers, Fitzhugh describes the life of a rodeo cowboy as, "...wrestling with rampaging bovines in sawdust soaked with horse piss." Shoot, while he's talking rodeo, Fitzhugh gives even the bucking bulls memorable monikers, like "Butt Pucker."
If Fitzhugh is involved in a project, you can be assured of hilariously witty dialog and memorable one-liners, as well as plenty of comedic action - the kind that makes you break out laughing involuntarily, and people around you kind of slide away (to give you a little more room, in case you get violent). This book excels in the humour,action, and intrigue departments. But one thing I especially like about this book is that Fitzhugh reveals a previously hidden talent for the more serious and profound elements of real life. Slim and Howdy are not cartoon characters involved in slapstick humour - they are real characters that are dealing with some real life issues (such as flashbacks to parental interaction and past relationships). But, as heroes must, they rise above their humble backgrounds and life's set backs, and use pluck, courage and wits to out duel the bad guys. Having read all of Fitzhugh's works, I rank this one as one of his best. He has
shown a remarkable ability to collaborate with Brooks and Dunn, and, like the chameleon he is, Fitzhugh has adapted his sharp and insightful pencil well to the western landscape. Fitzhugh's evocative pen captures the sad state of "old east Texas sawmill towns and mining communities whose promises were broken long ago, settlements that were killed when railroads or highways bypassed them..."
Fitzhugh is almost unparalleled in the character description department. Here's one bad guy introduced: "A quick look told Howdy this guy was bad luck and trouble. Third-degree burn scars all around his mouth gave him a painful, waxy sneer. His nose, bent and humped, looked like it had been broken more times than a politician's promises. He was a mad dog disciple of violence and retribution with one droopy eye and the countenance of a man who drank to get the crawl off of his skin." And here's a lady met in bar: "Tammy..upon closer examination looked slightly harder than a federal tax form." Before deciding whether to be receptive to Tammy's advances, " Slim ...was thinking that he ought to examine her under a brighter light..." She did, however, feature a sexy little tattoo on her back, that Howdy describes,wistfully, "like a welcome mat"....that says "Visitors Welcome." Another talented bar patron is described as being shapely to the point of
"straining the pearl snaps on a snazzy western shirt..." and also wearing "a willing smile."
Once our heroes meet Jody, the owner of a bar with a name appropriate for our heroes' life mission, the "Lost and Found," the plot thickens. Employed as assistant managers and entertainers, Slim and Howdy are beginning to get comfortable, when they become the unwitting targets of a bad dude named Boone Tate. Boone's not too smart. He likes to hit the highway after happy hour with "a good buzz and a pocket full of chicken wings." Boone's the kind of feller you would find at "a bar of last resort, a stinking joint swarming with tattooed miscreants and feral-eyed thugs."
And then there's Jody's brother, who has a "barracuda smile" and is self-employed as "a morally flexible attorney." And we can't forget the Big Goon, who "blinked slow and dim, like a spade-foot frog trying to reason."
This book is chock full of snappy one-liners and comedic action. It all comes to a surprising crescendo of events at the conclusion, which will surprise even the insightful reader. I highly recommend this book for fans of Fitzhugh, as well as for fans of Dunn and Brooks. I bought this book because I am a fan of Fitzhugh's work. But I am now a fan of Brooks and Dunn, as well !
Count Me in on the Next Slim and Howdy Adventure
2009-04-13 - Bill Fitzhugh is one of the top surreal eccentric character tale adventures. The Adventures of Slim and Howdy combined his normal style with a very heavy American Country lingo and spin, provided by co-authors on this one American Country superstars Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. The result is certainly no Pest Control, in fact unless you're a American country music fan you'll be guessing from time to time what the characters or narrator is talking about (Honkeytonk for example no idea what this means). As with the small town Texas geography. Likewise as with Fitzhugh's Radio Activity and its sequel Highway 61 Resurfaced where unless you were a blues fan you had no idea what the blues music cultural references were, characters Slim and Howdy will both perform a number of hits if you're not into American country music you won't have heard of. However you don't need to understand all this terminology and music for this novel to work, and work well it does.
At a Beaumont used car lot Slim and Howdy work out they are both being ripped off by the pitiful amounts of cash on offer for their cars so decide to keep one, travel together and divide the cash for the other. Slim and Howdy are pretty similar characters (which can get confusing at times knowing which one is which). Both are good natured country boys, you'd be happy to hang out with, both are into music as a dream career and are very good behind the mike and with their guitars although neither knows that about the other. Narrated in an Uncle Jesse, Dukes of Hazard style, their adventure will begin with a pair of gardening shears in a bid to retrieve a stolen guitar and will eventually take them down to a south Texas bar where they will have to come to rely on one another to get save a good friend. Along the way they will outwit many a drunken redneck and con artist as well as impress a number of women. Throw in the usual Fitzhugh eccentric characters and you've got another great read!
Can't wait for the sequel!
great book!
2008-07-10 - I loved this book! I couldn't put it down. It was a very fast read. I hope they write another!
Courageous, amazing, and wonderful
2008-06-12 - Reviewed by Gina Holland for RebeccasReads (6/08)
"The Adventures of Slim and Howdy" is a novel full of humor, mystery and thrills. The novel's namesakes are two young men who meet fortuitously in a used car lot; both are trying to sell their cars so they can head towards bigger and better things. Howdy wants to sell his car for enough money to get himself to Texas and a career in music. Slim wants rid himself of his car, because it never gets him to where he needs to be. In the midst of things, the men end up coming to a surprise resolution: Howdy keeps his truck, seeing that it is in the best shape of both cars, and he and Slim decide to split the money for Slim's car and take off together, vowing to put both names on the pink slip of the truck. I wonder if anything like this ever happens in real life.
Slim and Howdy both love music, and plan on making it their career. Howdy is the outgoing one. He has something lined up pertaining to music at a honky-tonk in Texas. Slim is the quiet one. He doesn't talk much and Howdy gets pretty frustrated with Slim on the trip. His answers are very few and far between, and Howdy wonders how this will all work out.
Slim has to make one quick stop before they head out. He has to rescue his stolen guitar. This is when they meet Crystal and Tammy, two wild girls, thieves if you will, who almost get them into a lot of trouble, and nearly killed. So much for luck.
After Slim retrieves his guitar and shakes the troublesome duo of Crystal and Tammy, and then the cops, he and Howdy finally head towards Texas. There, they meet Skeet Duvall, the owner of the Piggin' String. He gives them the chance that they were looking for: Freedom to sing and play and be something very special.
After their time is finished at the Piggin' String, they move on to another place where things heat up and become more than the guys may be able to handle. A place where a lost love for Howdy becomes the target of someone's anger and greed. Howdy and Slim must save this lost love before its too late.
Brooks and Dunn have written a fantastic novel about two young men on the road looking for fame and fortune. Just like anyone looking for the same things, the men find themselves in several dilemmas. I had so much fun reading this novel. I really hope there will be a sequel, as I would love to find out where life takes Slim and Howdy. Brooks and Dunn have brought to us the lives of young people who are struggling to become something that they want to be; how hard it is to get there, and what can happen once they do. A job very well done. As a bonus, they include a CD in the back of the book called, "Gotta Get Me One Of Those," which is great.
