DECEMBER 2008

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A Review of Hall’s Full of It: The Birth, Death, and Life of an Underground Newspaper
By Jason Jordan, Nov 12, 2008

Tim Hall’s Full of It: The Birth, Death, and Life of an Underground Newspaper (Undie Press, 2008) takes place in New York’s East Village in the mid-‘90s, and centers on a group of people that run the Troglodyte, a free newspaper. According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, the word troglodyte refers to a “person living in seclusion,” like a cave dweller. And really, said term classifies several characters in the book, a book that is quite good.

Despite its fiction label, the back cover says that Full of It is “based on a true story.” Soon enough you find out that your refreshingly honest narrator is indeed Tim Hall, and that Tim is incredibly knowledgeable about New York, which lends credence to the statement above. From the descriptions of the bars to the city streets, FoI feels authentic. So do the characters. There’s Buzzy, the crazy power-hungry girl who’s fixated on running the Troglodyte, Jack, the good-natured guy who’s in charge but likes to avoid conflict, and a parade of others that enter and exit the protagonist’s life. Thankfully, each is distinguishable and memorable. There are minor characters that don’t necessarily deserve a spot alongside the major ones, but in the bar environment, it’s believable that the narrator would encounter so many. And though I immediately warmed up to the narrator and cheered him on throughout, there was a spot or two where I felt that the acclaim he was receiving (for his writing and/or the Troglodyte under his editorship) was a bit much.

Additionally, while there are numerous plots at play, there are also sections that don’t pertain to the Troglodyte in a strict sense. I’m thinking of the events surrounding Wilson, the vacation to Mexico, and a few more that could’ve been cut. I like all 275 pages, but those who want to focus on the main plot may breeze through the parts that don’t contain the paper. Also, the font isn’t the easiest to read, and the cover art reminds me of a graphic novel instead of a literary novel. At any rate, Full of It is a compelling story that makes me want to delve into Hall’s previous work.

decomP Editor-in-Chief Jason Jordan is the Editor-in-Chief of decomP. Visit him at his blog.

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