Make-Believe Ballrooms

by Peter J. Smith

Book Overview

Dark days for Hal Andrews, New York artist and scion of an eccentric New England family. His cat has just died in a plunge from his apartment window. His brother Beck, manic-depressive and hopelessly nostalgic, is about to marry Lisa Lyman, heiress to the Family Wipes fortune and certifiably the world's most abominable girl. Their sister Fishie, an Olympic swimming champion who uses her television appearances to berate Hal, has recently shaved her...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871133679
• ISBN13: 9780871133670
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Funny

Clever, witty and one of my favorite charming duos. Long live Hal and Mary-Ann!

Buy it today!

A funny book that actually will make you laugh out loud. Beautifully written with engaging and unexpected characters. Peter J Smith is a wonderful writer. Do yourself a favour and buy this book today!

the funniest book!

This book is conceivably the funniest book that I have ever read! A must-read for anyone with a quirky and creative sense of humor!

Flawless

I love this book. Even after several readings, it still causes me to laugh aloud. "Make Believe Ballrooms" has seriously affected the way I look at Maxfield Parrish paintings, and that is probably a good thing. If only there were more . . . .

Risk your life finding a copy of this book

We have here what we may term the Seinfield of fiction. A story about so much, yet when trying to put it into words one comes up with "it's sort of a story about...nothing." However, among the barrage of "meaningful" fiction loitering pretentiously on bookstore fiction shelves, this novel says infinitely more about life, with its simple and effecting prose and utterly laugh at loud situations and characters, than any torturous "story with a moral" that you'll find on the best seller list. You will laugh out loud...I am not being figurative. You will laugh out loud often and with the unembarassed intensity that usually only a witty best friend can inspire. You will also feel strangely touched by this book. I say "strangely" because, perhaps like me, you won't be able to quite put your finger on why. Perhaps it is because life consists of a series of "nothing" events and coincidences, challenges and changes, silly as they may be. You will see the absurdity of life in this book and, upon closing it, realize how beautiful that absurdity is. Risk your life to find a copy of this amazing book...it is difficult to find, but then again, so are most worthwhile things. Find it, read it, and then write Mr. Smith a thank you letter for writing it. It is a rare gem in a slough of mediocrity.