Reviews

I absolutely loved The Otis Ring. It’s brilliant. I’m just sad it’s over. If you can figure out how to sell seating behind your eyeballs, put me down for a season ticket.—Roger Johns, author of Dark River Rising, and River of Secrets: A Wallace Hartman Mystery

I laughed. I cried. Both kinds.—Mark Rhodes

I thoroughly enjoyed the masterful irreverence in your approach to what is commonly dealt with in a very serious and somber manner. Thank you for the lightness and laughter on each and every page.—Jennifer Falls

A tortured, beautiful description of a car wreck.—Debby Vollmer

As I read Andy Johnson’s book The Otis Ring over the Christmas holidays, I thought of Leonard Cohen’s chorus in his song “Anthem”: “…there is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Between the covers of The Otis Ring, readers will be repeatedly enlightened by startling beams of light piercing through this unique genre collage of biography, magical realism, satire, and existential black humor. Literary ghosts of Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer and The Last Gentleman haunt this book….The Otis Ring never preaches but always edifies, never quits while frequently confesses the writer’s dark desire to do just that, and never indulges in cliches of character or narrative but always finds new ways to express our common suffering and our occasional, hard-won approximations of fulfillment.—Rodney Allen, author of Walker Percy: A Southern Wayfarer; Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut; Understanding Kurt Vonnegut; Introduction to Literature, 6th edition (Houghton Mifflin); The Coen Brothers: Interviews

I got your book…..and just finished reading it. Remember in Patton when George C. Scott lowers his binoculars and says “Johnson, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!”  You are a magnificent bastard and I thoroughly enjoyed every word.—Greg Voorhies

 It’s an “unputdownable” book ! Just wanted to let you know I got my books almost immediately and have been immersed every second possible.  —Shirley Smith

 It’s Dave Barry meets John Kennedy Toole.—Jay Dardenne

Your book calls to mind these words: transparency, truth and honesty. Thank you for sharing your truth. I’ll revisit this read.—Marsa Fontenot

I read The Otis Ring last night. I never put it down, except to pour a large glass of wine at page 90….. In a span of two minutes I would be nervous, wince, smile and laugh out loud. Your dry wit permeated the book…. .This is a book to be proud of. —Mike McNulty

I very much enjoyed The Otis Ring. Your closing reflection on an uneventful life as peaceful and exquisitely mundane is the sort of idea that leaves a ringing sensation, a new slant on things, and I’m grateful for that. I of course enjoyed the humor but I’m also very aware of the pain behind it. I think you really took some personal risks in telling this story, very personal risks. I salute you for that because that can’t be easy. So thanks for this very personal memoir and reflection. —Tim Page

This book is witty, insightful, brave, and VICTORIOUS! The Otis Ring is an original.—Betty Gaiennie

Johnson’s writing is a journey, reminiscent of a genteel southern Odysseus on a voyage to self deprecation. The Otis Ring holds nothing back, laying bare Johnson’s most vulnerable reserves in manner reminiscent of a Nihilistic Twain. Each page leaves the reader laughing or wincing; most times simultaneously!—Davis Woodward ,Counselor, MS, LPC-S

It is hard to express how much I enjoyed your book. I truly devoured every page and made myself do so at a slow pace so I wouldn’t miss even one turn of phrase.  It was a delight to read and doing so empowered me with a sarcastic humor that got me through the holidays with a smile on my face.  In fact, I think it’s still there.—Gibson Barham

I enjoyed the read and was thoroughly entertained. It was masterfully written.—Judy Joubert

Equal parts humorous and heartbreaking, witty and poignant. Johnson’s debut novel would fit neatly within the bildungsroman genre, perhaps alongside the works of Salinger and Harper Lee—if not for the protagonist coming of age happening to be a middle-aged man. Through his series of vignettes, Johnson recounts the seemingly mundane moments in the life of a recovered alcoholic that, when considered as a whole, remind us what it is to be human. That is to say, that we are all forced to come to terms with this life, in all its glory and despair. Luckily for the reader, Johnson writes of the tragedy of the human condition with such jocularity that those not paying attention could easily mistake his novel for a comedy. It is as entertaining as it is insightful, and a must-read for anyone wishing to further their own introspection while vehemently avoiding the self-help aisle. —Melissa Alford

Andy’s book is very funny, but maybe contraindicated for recent heart surgery patients like me.  I laughed so hard it required oxycontin just to relieve my severe chest pain from laughing. It’s well written and makes me laugh with every turn of the page. The expression “it only hurts when I laugh” was never as true as it is with The Otis Ring. Storytelling at its very best…—Joe Sullivan 

As I turned the pages peeling back your story, I was drawn into your web making a safe space to do my own self-reflecting.  Otis Ring gave me an emotional charge to be frank and honest in my own life.  I WANT MORE.  More of your clever words, more uncomfortable-honest observations  and more laughs!  Please tell me there is a sequel on the horizon? — Nancy Breaux-Charbonnet, television writer, producer, and director; film and television script supervisor; film director