The fourth novel in 4th Estates Wilcox revival, a revival which has been received with universal enthusiasm: With a keen eye for the weirdness of ordinary lives and an easy style somewhere between Armistead Maupin and Ann Tyler, Wilcox looks set for similar success. GQGretchen Peabody, fortyish and only just a bit dowdy, has decided to abandon the comforts of Manhattan for a new home in Tula Springs, Louisiana, having been swept off her feet by Frank Dambar, a fetching widower she has happened upon in a New Orleans souvenir shop. What she finds there, however, is a state of affairs to which only James Wilcox could do justice. While Gretchen is baffled by the small towns provincialism, it pales next to the weird household her new husband has assembled, which includes a handyman/mystic and his arthritic niece, and a stolid Teutonic housekeeper determined to keep the first Mrs Dambars memory alive. Just as Gretchen begins to wonder whether so unusual a marriage has been a mistake, fate again intrudes Wilcoxs brilliantly comic vision is matched by a profoundly affecting regard for his characters qualities that mark his maturity as a novelist and confirm his standing among the classic American humorists.
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From the Publisher:
From "one of the most promising fiction writers on the national scene" (Los Angeles Times) comes "an exceedingly well-crafted tale of blind spots and self-delusions, alternately hilarious and sobering."--Time
About the Author:
" James Wilcox is also the author of the novels Modern Baptists, North Gladiola, Miss Undine's Living Room, Polite Sex, North Gladiola, Guest of a Sinner, and, most recently, Plain and Normal. He is a graduate of Yale University and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is currently Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Mississippi State University."
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherFourth Estate
- Publication date1998
- ISBN 10 1857024281
- ISBN 13 9781857024289
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages288
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Rating