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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Flynn's Unforgettable Hoboken Mar 06, 2007
By Samantha Blackmire
With a history recorded in newsreels and nonfiction, the once-famous face of Hoboken is fading into obscurity, buried beneath the new construction of Progress. Who remembers the waterfront? The old bars on narrow streets? The people who once lived in this thriving port city? Eugene Flynn remembers, and has immortalized it all in a collection of very funny tales.
This would be a wonderful read for lovers of the city and short stories alike. These unforgettable journeys into the hilarious and unexpected are fast-paced, balanced, and masterfully composed.
It's hard not to smile while reading these engaging tales. It's hard not to laugh out loud. Flynn dances between irony, satire, sardonic humor and good-natured fun with ease, and every character is memorable.
With every line of dialogue or engaging imagery, the reader can feel the city come to life around them. The shadowy bars, the great food, the rowdy workers mixing with the college kids, and the salty smell of the sea.
Even when the shore is lined with tall buildings and the only drinks served are grande lattes, thanks to Eugene Flynn, we'll always smile and laugh as we remember What Happened In Hoboken.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Gene Flinn is a comic genius Apr 08, 2006
By Laura O'Reilly
"Laurie"
I simply loved reading the 22 stories in this collection by Eugene Flinn. Where has this author been hiding? He is a comic genius in the style of William Kennedy O'Toole.Like O'Toole's Pultizer-prize winning novel, The Confederacy of Dunces," Flinn's It Happened in Hoboken is loaded with richly drawn characters, colorful, hilarious dialogue, and plots that surprise and delight with every twist and turn. It Happened in Hoboken is a map of the lively waterfront city, the way James Joyce's The Dubliners is a map of old Dublin.
Flinn is an author to be watched. His style is up there with the very best of Irish storytellers.
Exposed in Hoboken Jun 23, 2006
By Bichchau Nguyen
Secrets revelation, accidental discoveries, devious plans, and desperate attempts to escape are some of Hoboken flavors.
In "Fresh Oyster", a young actress has an opportunity to be the central character in the play. The problem is that she will have to be bound, gagged, and performed nude on stage. This may not sound half as bad, if her mother approves of her act. Clearly, parental interference can be troublesome. However, the tale ends with an unexpected twist.
If being exposed seems normal to the actress, then seeing God on the highway all the time certainly falls under the same category. Or at least that was what Bridie O'Sullivan insists to Leland as they drive down the New Jersey Turnpike in "Special Delivery." LeLand sees G.O.D. alright. In fact, G.O.D. really is driving in a white truck. Of course, the first mistake for LeLand is to actually listen to Bridie. He finds out the truth that night on his way home from her place.
Listening then can be hazardous. It becomes so, and so much more in "That Reminds Me of My Operation." Dinglehoffer complains of his pains and aches as often as the Bensons have dinner every night. At first, the Bensons think Dinglehoffer is a kind, old man. This turns out completely opposite. In fact, Dinglehoffer is not even their relative. So how has he been able to come into their house? A better question is how will the Bensons escape this nightmare.
In speaking of nightmare, being caught is on the top of the list for Zoo Zoo and his partner, Patsy's uncle. Zoo Zoo comes up with the plan of stuffing the numbers in Patsy Donohue's beanie cap. The uncle summarizes, "So the deal was to get the numbers slips to Mike without the cops seeing us." Patsy Donahue, seven years old, then becomes `a class act' in "A Pitcher of Innocence."
Flinn certainly has the talent of capturing the characters perfectly in his writing. The realistic yet crazy characters make a humorous read in the stories full of twists and unforgettable portrayal of circumstances. The selections have been artfully arranged. The dialogues themselves are hilarious and realistic, completed with accents and quirks.
Although each story is different from one another, there is a thread that strings them all together, besides the obvious common background of Hoboken. The abandonment of the husband in "Please Raise the Kids Catholic" is followed by Mr. Burke-Burke's appearance in Mrs. Morgan's place. With Mr. Burke-Burke thinks Joseph is as `predictable as a rainy night in Hoboken', the story after is unpredictable. This string carries on, looping all the stories together.
Hoboken Hiliarity Jun 22, 2006
By Maria S. Rost
Eugene Flinn has the gift of spotting the unique in the apparently oridinary and transforming it into entertaining short stories in a straightforward style that is reminiscent of some of the great short story writers of the nineteenth century and which makes the plot twists and endings all the more effective.
In this volume all the stories are set in Hoben, NJ, that quintessential example of the American melting pot, whose characters' Italian, Irish, Jewish, Polish, working class and Yuppie voices are caught by Flinn's sensitive ear. All of them are treated with affectionate humor, from the conservative nun who learns road rage to the kid who tells Santa Claus off.
Flinn's stories offer a refreshing break from the slick, cynical fiction so often encountered today. Many of them take us back to a time when kids still played stick ball on city streets instead of murderous Nintendo games in isolation, and you could stop and talk to someone you happened to run into without fear of being interrupted by a ringing cell phone. For all the amorous exploits and other shenanigans in some of the stories, it seems like a more innocent, less threatening time.
This is relaxing light reading that will leave a smile on your face and make you want to visit Hoboken.
A first rate collection of humerous, beautifully written stories. Jun 05, 2006
By Robert H. Clark
This collection of short stories brings the crazy but true to life characters of pre-hipster Hoboken to life, with perceptive humor and a deep abiding affection for the city. Dr. Flinn writes with the finesse of a great poet and the magic of a master storyteller. A true page turner, I recommend this book has one of the best I've read in years.
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