Second Hand

by Michael Zadoorian

Book Overview

At last, the novel for everyone who has ever loved something secondhand--the High Fidelity of garage sales, the On the Road of thrift shopping, The Moviegoer of the flea market. Richard owns a secondhand store ("Satori Junk") just outside Detroit. He's the kind of guy for whom not much happens, until it happens all at once: His mother dies. He rummages his parents' basement for good junk and finds (alongside "every purse my mother has ever owned since...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393047970
• ISBN13: 9780393047974
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

"Second Hand" First Rate

"Second Hand" is incredibly entertaining and funny. It's also chock full of profundity without any trace of pretention -- a neat trick, and one I have seldom seen pulled off before. I loved it, so I loaned it to a 29-year-old friend. She loved it. I then loaned it to a 63-year-old friend. He loved it. Two thirty-something women and a 54-year-old man I know read it and guess what? They loved it. Do yourself a favor -- READ IT.

I love this book

This is a really great book. I read it in 24 hours. I have a cabinet where all of my best books go, and this one will join the others there. I did not want this book to end, and I want to know what Richard and Theresa will be doing in ten years. This will definitely be on my top ten books of the year 2000 list. READ IT!

Beautiful & Funny

An original, hilarious and touching portrait of junkers. You will savor Zadoorian's poetic, wry and comic prose. You will laugh.You will feel as if you've entered into these character's hearts, You won't want to leave. Enjoy.

one of the best books I' ve read

The junk descriptions appeal to the obsessive rummager side of me, but the best part of the story does not happen at estate sales. "The things people throw away" including living things, love and each other, make for a poignant, comedic, authentic novel. I highly recommend it.

In Junk Lies Beauty

What a wonderful treasure is this deceptively simple novel. I found myself reading it slowly, not wanting it to end. Richard and Theresa are not your usual protagonists. Richard is depressed, self-absorbed, and afraid of life. Theresa takes responsibility for the world and is impossible to get along with. Yet I found myself rooting for them, wanting these misplaced people to find their place in the world.And as a person who loves thrift shops and yard sales, I delighted in the author's obvious love of junk. Zadoorian waxes philosophical about the appeal of the secondhand, the thrill of the hunt. Little did I know how much meaning there was in junk! And of course, the fact that the action takes place in my own backyard, geographically speaking, made it all the more fun to read. A most promising debut.