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List Price: $11.95 | | Publisher: Villard
Salesrank: 705267
Released: May 1, 2001 |
| Our Price: $41.74 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
"Hip deep in music, Never Mind Nirvana is a telling inside view that perfectly captures the rhythms and sights of late-nineties Seattle."
— Peter Buck, guitarist of R.E.M.
Pete Tyler is at a crossroads. Eight years ago he dropped out of a seminal Seattle grunge band to try his hand at a more grown-up calling. Now he's thirty-six ("almost forty!"), a deputy prosecutor (a suit), still hanging out at the same clubs he played ten years ago (the ones that haven't shut down), and still dating the same kind of girls (except now they tell him how much their older sisters loved his band).
Pete decides it's time to get married—he just doesn't know to whom. Possibilities include Beth, his first love, who has disappeared; Winter, his on-and-off stripper girl-friend, who has been living the grunge life too long; and Esme´, a Sub Pop A&R executive who has some life decisions of her own to make. When a date-rape case lands on his desk—the accused is a local rocker Pete's age, the accuser an eighteen-year-old from the scene—Pete finds his past and present facing him from both sides of the aisle, and he finally has to decide where he stands.
Pete Tyler is a cooler version of Everyguy, and Never Mind Nirvana is a hilarious and unexpectedly moving story of a man with one foot stuck in adolescence and the other planted in adulthood. Richly textured with references to classic rock and the music of Seattle's legendary alternative rock scene, it is also a fascinating, bittersweet riff on a particularly American zeitgeist.
Description of Never Mind Nirvana: A Novel:
Twentysomething New York had its Bright Lights, Big City. Pre-grad L.A. had its Less Than Zero. And now thirtysomething, post-grunge Seattle has its Never Mind Nirvana (a less-than-clever twist on the title of a seminal album). In Mark Lindquist's third novel, we find Peter Tyler at a crossroads. He's traded in his gig as a bassist with a quasi-successful grunge band for a respectable career in law. Instead of flannel he wears suits, and instead of taking the bus he zips around town in a Volvo. Emotionally, however, this paragon of maturity is still a kid: he hangs in the same bars, treats women merely as potential conquests (only now he's dating the little sisters of the strippers and groupies who used to notch his bedpost), and still slips the same old CDs onto his stereo.
In the midst of this adolescent purgatory, a date-rape case lands on Peter's desk, and he finds himself prosecuting an old rock-star friend for committing an act he himself may have committed in the past. Time to grow up? Unfortunately not: throughout Never Mind Nirvana, the intricacies and ambiguities of the case often take a backseat to Tyler's drunken angst. When his hero is grappling with the grayest, most subtle aspects of the trial, Lindquist does imbue him with a certain depth and compassion. Otherwise, his novel can seem a mere exercise in name-dropping: the washed-up rock stars who populate Seattle's nightlife, the bartenders who serve their scotch, and the bouncers who toss them out into the rainy streets. And it's no consolation to discover that Lindquist's portrayal of Seattle is technically accurate. Substituting fact for fiction, he's used a map and a phonebook--and not enough imagination. --Tod Nelson
Never Mind Nirvana: A Novel Reviews:
Choosing between right and wrong 
2008-06-12 - This romantic tale is based in the Seattle atmosphere of the late 90s. A prosecutor finds a catch 21 situation in his job, between choosing to follow his principles or please music fans of a charged rock musician. This kind of dilemma might seem its the central engine of this novel, but it isn't.
The main character passion for women in every aspect, how being succesful and attractive for ladies is not enough to secure a womans heart, are some of the plots aspects I found fascinating. His writing style is captivating without pretending to be Nobel prize material.
The subplots and dialogues are very realistic. Many references to songs of that time. A soundtrack for this book could be released.
The novel works sometimes as a nostalgia deliver....its been only 10 years...but come on, most Gen Xers would love to live that era again.
The author is actually a lawyer, this adds a sense this might be in some way an autobiographical novel.
Highly recommended.
Seattle dreams and many flings
2006-06-22 - Author Mark Lindquist writes a simple story in "Never Mind Nirvana." There is nothing overly flashy or anything that adds a monumental aspect to the realm of English literature, however, here sits a fine piece of storytelling that works nearly like Bret Easton Ellis novel but more like a movie on Showtime.
For anyone of the late Generation X-movement, this book is for you. While not as cutting edge as Ellis' novel, "Glamorama", "Never Mind Nirvana" features many celebrities in appearances no different than Ellis' previous works. Several grunge rockers show some face and there's a throwback to past memories that anyone who listened to radio or music in general from the 90's can relate to.
It's text with a soundtrack.
The story follows the prosecution of one aging rocker that is a bonafide celebrity in the dear music scene of awesome Seattle, Washington. The prosecutor is a former musician and finds himself on the edge of the next level of his life, contemplating his past and asking himself, "Who was I? What am I now?"
There are countless short romances, the club goers, the drinks, and sing a longs that almost entrance the reader to throw down the book and head bang for a bit.
Lindquist is about simplicity and this book is an easy read for a quiet afternoon on the couch or a rainy day at a cafe. While it's not a book for everyone, it's enjoyable to the majority...
when's the freakin' movie coming out!? 
2005-04-09 - this is the coolest book and it would make the coolest movie! It's like the movie's already written, it just needs someone with a camera and some actors. Someone suggeted Vince Vaughn play Pete Tyler, I say Johnny Depp. Whatever, someone should just hurry up 'cause "I can't hardly wait!" If you know what song that line is from, you'll love this book. You'll probably love it anyway.
Possibilities
2005-01-11 - This is a great light read. The comparisons to Hornby are justifiable, but Lindquist does create an original storyline. The idea of coupling Seattle pop culture laden material with courtroom drama seems odd, but he pulls it off. A lot of the reviews I read pertaining to this novel mention pace and rightly so. The book becomes increasingly hard to put down once you start, as cliche as that sounds. And the music references! Love It! I spent the night digging through hundreds of old CD's after I read this. The characters are believable and easy to relate to, especially for those of us who are just like or know people just like them.
Almost a Seattle guide
2004-10-06 - I really enjoyed this book. It is all about growing up - we follow the protagonist, a former local rock star who is now 38 ("almost forty") and a prosecutor in the final stages of his process to become an adult. It is no coincidence that the story is situated in a post-grunge Seattle - the city is going through a similar grow-up process after Kurt Cobain's death. The references to the city are very accurate; you could use this book as a traveler's guide to Seattle's nightlife. Still, a very good read in the style of Jay McInnerny, Tom Wolfe or Nick Hornby.
