This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(August 2016)
The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western is a novel by Richard Brautigan first published in 1974.[1] The novel is his fifth published novel, and a parody of Western and Gothic novels.[1]
Taking place mainly in eastern Oregon in 1902, the story concerns a pair of morally ambivalent gunmen, Cameron and Greer. On a job in Hawaii, they are stopped by the fact their target is with his son. After returning to California they spend some time in a brothel, where a young Native American-looking woman, Magic Child, comes to hire them for a job at her house. Along the way they stop at a place to eat and during the meal hear loud gunshot-like noises. That night Magic Child sleeps with both men and Greer takes quite a liking to her.
When they reach the house, in the middle of the western plains on a ninety-degree day, it is surrounded by snow. Miss Hawkline comes to greet them and they realize that Magic Child is her twin sister. As soon as they enter the house the women's personalities change and they explain that they brought the men here to hunt down and destroy the "monster" living in the "ice caves" beneath the house. Miss Hawkline and her sister (also called "Miss Hawkline") believe that the monster has killed their father, a Harvard scientist who disappeared while hard at work in his basement laboratory on a project referred to only as "The Chemicals," which would, he claimed, if perfected, be a great boon to the human race. During the conversation the four characters realize that The Chemicals are somehow altering their minds to make them lose track of what they are discussing. Then, the large family butler suddenly dies, and shrinks into a little person.
As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that the monster is not a physical being; rather it is a prank created by The Chemicals, which manifest themselves as a "light" that flies mischievously around the house. After all the strange happenings, evidently designed to distract them, Cameron pours a glass of whiskey into the beaker containing The Chemicals. This kills the monster, destroys the house and turns the father back into a human being (he had been an umbrella basket the whole time). The butler returns to normal size and comes back to life. Cameron and Greer marry the two sisters, and the story ends, but an epilogue states that the sisters eventually divorced the two men.
Adaptationsedit
For many years filmmaker Hal Ashby unsuccessfully attempted to make a film adaptation of the book.[1] Actors Jack Nicholson, Harry Dean Stanton and Jeff Bridges were all considered for the lead roles. Brautigan wrote a screenplay which Ashby rejected.[1] When asked to write a second draft, Brautigan turned him down, and the film was never made. Director Tim Burton also tried to make a film version. Nicholson and Clint Eastwood were attached to star, but after Eastwood left the project, so did Nicholson. Eventually Burton also left.[2] In June 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that New Regency acquired the rights, with Roy Lee, Andrew Trapani, and Steven Schneider set to produce the film adaptation with Yorgos Lanthimos in talks to direct.[3]
The English pop band Saint Etienne has also recorded and released a theoretical soundtrack for an imagined film of the book on their 2002 fan-club exclusively released album Asleep at the Wheels of Steel.
Referencesedit
^ abcd"Richard Brautigan: The Hawkline Monster". www.brautigan.net. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources The Hawkline Monster A Gothic Western news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2016 This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary Please help improve the article by adding more real world context November 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message The Hawkline Monster A Gothic Western is a novel by Richard Brautigan first published in 1974 1 The novel is his fifth published novel and a parody of Western and Gothic novels 1 The Hawkline Monster A Gothic WesternFirst editionAuthorRichard BrautiganCover artistWendell MinorCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublisherSimon amp SchusterPublication dateSeptember 1974Media typePrint hardback amp paperback Pages216ISBN0 671 21809 3 hardback edition OCLC868088Dewey Decimal813 5 4LC ClassPZ4 B826 Haw PS3503 R2736Preceded byThe Abortion An Historical Romance 1966 Followed byWillard and His Bowling Trophies A Perverse Mystery Contents 1 Plot 2 Adaptations 3 References 4 External linksPlot editTaking place mainly in eastern Oregon in 1902 the story concerns a pair of morally ambivalent gunmen Cameron and Greer On a job in Hawaii they are stopped by the fact their target is with his son After returning to California they spend some time in a brothel where a young Native American looking woman Magic Child comes to hire them for a job at her house Along the way they stop at a place to eat and during the meal hear loud gunshot like noises That night Magic Child sleeps with both men and Greer takes quite a liking to her When they reach the house in the middle of the western plains on a ninety degree day it is surrounded by snow Miss Hawkline comes to greet them and they realize that Magic Child is her twin sister As soon as they enter the house the women s personalities change and they explain that they brought the men here to hunt down and destroy the monster living in the ice caves beneath the house Miss Hawkline and her sister also called Miss Hawkline believe that the monster has killed their father a Harvard scientist who disappeared while hard at work in his basement laboratory on a project referred to only as The Chemicals which would he claimed if perfected be a great boon to the human race During the conversation the four characters realize that The Chemicals are somehow altering their minds to make them lose track of what they are discussing Then the large family butler suddenly dies and shrinks into a little person As the story unfolds it becomes apparent that the monster is not a physical being rather it is a prank created by The Chemicals which manifest themselves as a light that flies mischievously around the house After all the strange happenings evidently designed to distract them Cameron pours a glass of whiskey into the beaker containing The Chemicals This kills the monster destroys the house and turns the father back into a human being he had been an umbrella basket the whole time The butler returns to normal size and comes back to life Cameron and Greer marry the two sisters and the story ends but an epilogue states that the sisters eventually divorced the two men Adaptations editFor many years filmmaker Hal Ashby unsuccessfully attempted to make a film adaptation of the book 1 Actors Jack Nicholson Harry Dean Stanton and Jeff Bridges were all considered for the lead roles Brautigan wrote a screenplay which Ashby rejected 1 When asked to write a second draft Brautigan turned him down and the film was never made Director Tim Burton also tried to make a film version Nicholson and Clint Eastwood were attached to star but after Eastwood left the project so did Nicholson Eventually Burton also left 2 In June 2019 Deadline Hollywood reported that New Regency acquired the rights with Roy Lee Andrew Trapani and Steven Schneider set to produce the film adaptation with Yorgos Lanthimos in talks to direct 3 The English pop band Saint Etienne has also recorded and released a theoretical soundtrack for an imagined film of the book on their 2002 fan club exclusively released album Asleep at the Wheels of Steel References edit a b c d Richard Brautigan The Hawkline Monster www brautigan net Retrieved 2017 08 21 Arran McDermott 2006 Unrealised Projects The Tim Burton Collective Ramos Dino Ray 4 June 2019 New Regency Acquires Film Rights To The Hawkline Monster Deadline Retrieved 5 June 2019 External links editEntry on brautigan net The Hawkline Monster at Hunter Publishers Images of First Edition 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Hawkline Monster A Gothic Western amp oldid 1136834166, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
