Uncle Joe's Muse

Uncle Joe is a Dead Head. In most instances, that would elicit a “’nuff said.” In Uncle Joe’s case, however, that is only the beginning of the story, a story which at times is so hilarious I had trouble catching my breath as I was reading it. (Ask my wife. She called out in concern from her art studio, worried I might be choking to death!)The novel tells two parallel stories, entwined like a double helix. Uncle Joe takes us on a pilgrimage through the 60s, 70s, and 80s, during which he is present at all the iconic moments that have shaped our current consciousness. Of course, he is there at Woodstock. And it’s Joe who points out to the security guard the strange light coming from the darkened offices of the Watergate complex. He saves the Hell’s Angels and a group of the homeless, stops a troop ship from sailing off to Vietnam (in one of the funniest scenes I have ever read), helps an engineer discover how to make a moon rover for the Apollo missions. And on and on and on.In the present, Joe is the inspiration for Uncle Joe’s Band, a group of four ne’er-do-wells, who make up in volume what they lack in talent. Years of hard drinking and hard drugging as they “rage against the corporate machine” catch up with them in the form of a twelve-year-old girl who arrives on their doorstep in Vallejo. She says her mother has sent her there to spend the summer with her father. But who of the four is her father? She looks up from her phone just long enough to give them advice on how to improve their music, how to save their house from demolition by the city. And on and on and on.Thorp, who is apparently a moonlighting nephrologist, has created a comic masterpiece, seasoning the absurdity with just the right amount of wisdom and insight. There is a warmth and humanity about the novel that I found quite endearing. That said, the book really does need better editing. Ordinarily, I would deduct a star from my rating because of that, but the story is so dang good I didn’t want to discourage anyone from reading it! It’s the most fun I’ve had with a book so far this year. Very highly recommended.

Uncle Joe's Muse is part Forest Gump and part Mama Mia. It was a fun and easy read. It would actually be a cute movie.

I read this book for my book club when the ladies decided it was time to take a breather from all the heavy, depressing books we had been reading. Uncle Joe's Muse did the trick. It was a quick, fun read and I found myself chuckling out loud a few times. Because my general threshold for manchild is low, I wasn't sure if I'd find the four burnt out band members to be sufficiently likable characters, but in the end, the dynamic between them and their newly arrived "muse" was sweet enough to make the book work. The quirky Uncle Joe character was also a nice addition to the book and having his story weaved into the chapters enriched the book with a bit of Deadhead history. If your book club ever decides to take a brief hiatus from depressing novels (as mine did), then Uncle Joe's Muse would be a lighthearted and amusing read to throw into the mix.

I loved the characters in this book especially the four band members and their guest who are awkwardly adapting to their new and most unexpected situation. Hilarious and heartwarming. An enjoyable read!

With so much negativity in the world, Micah takes the past into the present,, with his witty and heartwarming way with words. Uncle Joe's Muse is definitely a book worth reading.

I laughed on almost every page of Uncle Joe's Muse.Among other “trips,” Micah Thorp (well, his characters) take the reader through many of the fads and fashions of the past fifty years, like the invention of the “pet rock,” the government’s experiments with hallucinogens to see if they’d help soldiers kill better, corporate music (elevator music). The over-arching plot is whimsical; a twelve year old girl — Allison — shows up at the band’s house to spend time with her “dad,” but no one in the band knows WHICH of them IS the dad. Allison injects some of the future in this motley, backward-looking, marginally successful, die-hard band that has rejected social media. I loved it when she asks them, “What’s Napster?”Though comparisons are odious, and this book is itself, 100%, there’s a slight tinge of the humor found in The Big Lebowski.