An American Outrage: A Novel of Qullifarkeag, Maine

by G.K. Wuori

Penzler Pick, November 2000: This is the story of what happened to Ellen DeLay in Quillifarkeag, Maine. Quilli (to the locals) has a lot in common with the small towns that Stephen King so often... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565122925
• ISBN13: 9781565122925
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Outrageous Maine!

This author has created a rural Maine village which resonates with the fictitious South of William Faulkner with the dense and evocative characters of Charles Dickens. Ellen Delay leaves her husband after spending days accidentally confined to the huge toolbox on the back of his pickup and moves into the woods. There she starts up a field dressing business, butchering the game hunters bring in; the business thrives. As an eccentric living on the edge of a fragile civilization, Ellen becomes a target for ridicule and eventually, of violence when she is gunned by four women, all law enforcement. Here author Wuori presents his insightful, if indeed outraged story of police excess and violence against the brutal beauty of the Maine woods. Stylistically and tonally, this is quite an edgy book; certainly not without humor, albeit often dark. Having spent some time in this area, unequivocally the author knows these people well and revels in their quirkiness. This reviewer expects much more from this author and greatly anticipates a return to Quillifarkeag, Maine.

The Quirks of Quillifarkeag

This book is a roller coaster ride through some of the clearest yet quirkiest characters in the fictional world. The ride comes complete with drops from great height, as in the death of Ellen DeLay, and sudden dips and turns without warning, as in the truck box incident that starts it all. The characters could have stepped right out of Northern Exposure, if this were TV. They are certainly a memorable bunch. This town is Lake Wobegone with an attitude and an undelying nastiness that only makes it more interesting. The people are vivid creations, drawn from the neighbor next door, who do the unexpected whenever possible. Wuori's creation is wonderfully rich in detail, right down to the bullet that goes through a moose and takes off the top joint of a hunter's pinky finger, causing a whole chain of unexpected occurrences. At the heart of the book, though, lies an indictment of American apathy paired with our need to be voyeurs in the lives of our neighbors. Small town life will never be the same again once we visit Quillifarkeag.