What do readers think of Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau? Write your own review.

I chose to read Every Anxious Wave because it looked original, creative and different from what I typically read. For someone into rock bands, it is entertaining. I found myself having a hard time keeping focused and getting through the book. it was just not for me!!!

I would never have picked this book to read although I did end up strangely enjoying it. The characters are very real even though they are living such a fantasy life. Science fiction is not my thing and neither are 90s rock bands. I think if I were familiar with some of the music that was constantly being mentioned, I could have related to the story more. That being said, I would have to recommend this to music fans of that genre...perhaps forty somethings that are into time traveling?

I tried. I picked this book because it was so different from what I usually read - a fantasy time traveling story where participants go back in time to see their favorite bands. The story had some good humor and was easy to get into but as the book went on, there was so much time traveling going on that I honestly got lost in what time period they were visiting and what points they were in their lives. Went on a bit long till I didn't really care! There are readers for this book but it wasn't me.

I liked the premise of the book "Every Anxious Wave" by Mo Daviau, that of time travel and what it means if you do things inadvertently to change the past or see the future. The book was very well written. I got a good sense of place and there was good character development but I was not enamored of any of them or the whole culture of rock bands and rock concerts. The characters being too cool and edgy was an irritation. The book was for a younger audience than me. I guess I am getting old...drat!

Despite my dislike of time travel in novels and absolutely no interest in 90's Indie rock (the two main subjects of this book), I found this book to be surprisingly compelling. By the end I was overwhelmed by the complications and twisty twists and downgraded the experience. But it exceeded my low expectations by a lot.

When you read Every Anxious Wave you must set aside convention and belief and agree to accept the premise of outrageous characters, outlandish situations, weird time travel and smutty language. Yes, the book reminded me of Where'd You Go Bernadette in the witty and humorous language, (Bernadette was one of my favorites), but unlike Bernadette, Daviau feels he has to resort to obscene language and sexual situations to tell his story. I was captivated by Lena and her bizarre appearance and demeanor. She seems to represent the woman who has been marginalized by society for not being smart enough, beautiful enough or svelte enough to fit in and thrive. That Karl sees through her defensive attitude and appreciates her goodness is a main theme of the book. Another interesting theme of Wave is Wayne's (and Daviau's) condemnation of modern society politics When Wayne time travels to 980 and refuses to leave because he loves the pure nature and lack of warfare and competition of the natives, it is obvious that Daviau too would prefer to live those times.
I enjoyed reading the book, as I skipped over the overt and totally nonessential sexual and obscene references and language, for the humor and where-are-we-going-now plot. I felt the last chapter or two were irrelevant and written in a hurry to close out the book.
Daviau has a future in humorous, clever and thought-provoking fiction, without thinking he has to cater to the current rash of writing full of trendy and foul language.

It is hard to decide how I feel about this book. When I started reading, I thought I wasn't going to like it. However, as I continued, I was interested in the time travel to the past. I especially enjoyed the section about the man who was sent back to 980 by mistake. The description of the clean air and beautiful greenery was wonderful.

Then the book bogged down. The on again/off again relationship between Carl and Lena was boring and the time travel to the future was ridiculous. Also, I didn't think the use of the "f" word and the other foul language was necessary. I think that is laziness on the part of the author. Surely there are better words to describe a person or situation. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to my friends and my book group.

In this time travel book, Karl Bender, bartender and former rock guitarist, has a wormhole in his apartment that sends people back to rock concerts. Accidentally, he sends his best friend Wayne to 980 instead of 1980. He finds a brilliant, overweight astrophysicist to help bring Wayne back. They fall in love, and jumping from the past to the future, Karl doesn't want to lose her.
I'm not in to rock bands and that part of the book did not interest me. I enjoyed Karl, Lena, Wayne, and Sahlil - their personalities and interactions. Their "serious" situations were very entertaining. I did feel, however, the last fourth of the book crammed too much in.