Novel

by George Singleton

Book Overview

Set in the town of Gruel, South Carolina, this first novel by George Singleton, master of the comic short story, is the tale of a young man named Novel (his brother's name is James; his sister's is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156030918
• ISBN13: 9780156030915
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

If John Stienbeck ,Robert McCammon and John Irving had been roomates they might have produced this.

The thing I enjoyed most about this book-besides the new take on humor-was that it actually moves along at a fine reading pace. So often nowadays writers are overly in love with their own writing and their editors seem to lack the stuff to make them stop. A good novel is always about the writer and the reader sitting down together and getting a story told. It was a real joy to get into this book and my only regret was that it could have been longer. Singleton is mistakenly branded a Southern writer but in the same context is John Irving a New York writer or Robert Parker a Boston writer? Many of the passing references to southern idioms seem genuine and add flavor,like tabasco to the chili,but chili is still chili. I would say this is a unique voice telling a good story without dragging it out or overly embellishing it. Like the best stories it is spoken in the first person familar. First and foremost almost every page has a unique spin offered on something ordinary-and like a homespun tapestry-there is a larger purpose but those stitches are important. There are a number of fresh images-like sneezing to lose weight-or the hilarious image of a cheetah allergy-that keep the work and the reader on the mark. This is the effort of a talented writer who wants to tell you a story and he will not give you something conventional,filtered and regurgitated so you can relax. Unlike so many other books the reader is pulled into the details of the telling so the story becomes your own. There is always a subtext of the funny going on that is not canned or spammed-this alone merits critical review. I found myself wanting to remember certain images and idioms for they had unique value. Add it all up and the book is a good solid,fresh read and an even finer job of unique story telling. I don't buy that many books but I enjoyed this enough to write a review of it and buy a copy for a friend.