The Last Days of Video

Written by Jeremy Hawkins

Narrated by Scott Sowers

The video stores are dying. But most of you don't care. You've got your Netflix and your Redbox and your DVR, so why deal with VHS tapes or scratched DVDs? Why deal with the grumpy guy at the worn-down independent video store? Well that grumpy guy is Waring Wax, and he's usually too drunk to worry about his declining business at Star Video, let alone his quickly evolving extinction in popular culture. But everything changes in his small college town when a bright and shiny Blockbuster Video opens nearby: Clearly, this means war. So, Waring enlists the help of his two reluctant employees, wildly sexy Alaura and desperate virgin Jeff-who are almost as nuts as he is-to hatch a series of wild schemes to save their little store and fight against the corporate invaders. Together, these three misfits try to save Star Video while confronting, among other things, Waring's self-destructive tendencies, a life training cult, corporate bicycle gangs, and a Hollywood director who constantly sees the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock while in town shooting his latest film. The Last Days of Video is a hilarious elegy for a bygone era, a quirky and charming story of redemption for a group of Review "This is a wonderful book! I laughed at least once a page. And the characters are so fresh and sad and eager. This book should be put in a time capsule. The Last Days of Video is like the literary missing link, about a time when things were really real." -Daniel Wallace, author of Big Fish and The Kings and Queens of Roam "The Last Days of Video is, as the title suggests, an elegy for an era, but it's an era that's going out with a lot of kicking and screaming. Funny, raucous, and deliciously irreverent, Jeremy Hawkins' debut novel offers up an engaging cast of characters who bicker and lust and love their way through the roller coaster ride of Star Video's final days. This generous, big-hearted novel is a joy to read." -Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk "This is the Lucky Jim of video store novels. A comic page-turner-often really funny-with an originality and tenderness not often seen in first novels." -Clyde Edgerton, author of Killer Diller "This hilarious novel manages to love, dissect, and make fun of our culture all at once. Jeremy Hawkins' particular genius is in understanding that people are never more sympathetic than when they aren't getting what they want. This whole book is saturated in loss, and yet I laughed through every page." -Rebecca Lee, author of Bobcat and Other Stories About the Author Jeremy Hawkins earned an MFA in Fiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is the founder and lead editor of The Distillery (distilleryediting.com), a web-based editing service. He is also an independent bookseller at Flyleaf Books and teaches creative writing at the Carrboro ArtsCenter. And of course, he worked for almost ten years at VisArt Video, a family-owned chain of video stores in Chapel Hill/Durham, NC.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490672526

Reviews for The Last Days of Video

[martialalex92 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Honestly if it weren't for the fact that this was about video stores it'd probably be at like a 3 or maybe 2, but it manages to pretty well capture the setting and the characters are well built. Also, Star Video is based on one of my favorite local stores, so it already had a lot going for it

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Set in a fictionalized version of the town I've lived in or near for pretty much all my life, this debut novel is about a dying video store in 2007 that is a fictionalized version of the video store where I used to rent all my movies. It's a light, humorous story, entertaining if a bit rough around the edges. The characters are the book's strength; the plot seems a little rambling, but pulls it together by the end. I could definitely see this as a movie, shades of High Fidelity, starring Jack Black maybe.

[stevelindahl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jeremy Hawkins' knowledge of film makes The Last Days of Video a unique novel that combines an interesting story with constant references to our movie culture. I've watched enough films to understand most of those references and I'm confident other readers will also enjoy them.The book jacket calls it “...a hilarious elegy for a bygone era, a quirky and charming story...” I agree with the quirky and charming, but can't say I laughed from beginning to end as many other reviewers did. True, Alaura's time at the Reality Center shows a great (and funny) picture of people searching for truth in cult-like organizations and Jeff's background makes an interesting comparison with people who use religion for a similar purpose. But what makes this book great is that I was pulling for the characters in all their odd activities rather than laughing at them. Hawkins even got me to pull for Waring Wax despite the fact that the only time he isn't acting bitter is when he's too drunk to do anything.I've always had a love for fictional lives. (That's why I write novels and have been active in local theater.) So I can identify with these characters, who also find their solace in fictional stories. I like Alaura best because she has other options. She stays with Star Video due to her love of classic films and I find her love to be contagious.This is a wonderful novel for anyone who has ever watched a film, especially a rented one.Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions