Rain's Reviews: Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Why We Took the Car

A beautifully written, darkly funny coming-of-age story from an award-winning, bestselling German author making his American debut.

Mike Klingenberg doesn't get why people think he's boring. Sure, he doesn't have many friends. (Okay, zero friends.) And everyone laughs at him when he reads his essays out loud in class. And he's never invited to parties - including the gorgeous Tatiana's party of the year.

Andre Tschichatschow, aka Tschick (not even the teachers can pronounce his name), is new in school, and a whole different kind of unpopular. He always looks like he's just been in a fight, his clothes are tragic, and he never talks to anyone.

But one day Tschick shows up at Mike's house out of the blue. Turns out he wasn't invited to Tatiana's party either, and he's ready to do something about it. Forget the popular kids: Together, Mike and Tschick are heading out on a road trip. No parents, no map, no destination. Will they get hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere? Probably. Will they meet crazy people and get into serious trouble? Definitely. But will they ever be called boring again?

Not a chance.
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Review

I’m not convinced of my feeling for this book. Right after i finished it I would have said something along the lines of: Dull and dragging, the main character was trivial in his crush and Tschick was underdeveloped.

But now after giving it some time to stew I’d tell you it was fun and exciting. It lulled a little and was at times hard to pick back up but interesting nonetheless. The timeline and geography got a little confusing but you eventually catch up.

Mike Klingenberg was thoughtful and slow to speak (his character resembled Pudge from Looking For Alaska by John Green). He was given the chance to be a little less boring and forget about his crush-which got a little annoying-and he took it. Driving across Germany and looking for Timbuktu. Andrej Tshichatschow, Tschick for short. He is a particularly interesting conundrum that I would like to learn more about, yet I understand that that wasn’t the point of the story. He is itching for adventure and a friend. He finds booth in Mike, quite unexpectedly. He is cooler than he looks.

All the people they meet and all the trouble they get into, its - in a word, awesome- I want that trip. And you will to. It’s a great read and Mikes thought provoking inner monologue keeps it cool.

There is explicit language in some parts.

~Rain

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"And I was insanely happy. Because you can't old your breath forever, but you can hold it for a pretty long time."

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