More Than Enough - Hardcover

Fulton, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0434010243 ISBN 13: 9780434010240

Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

A stunning portrayal of the break-up of a marriage and the collapse of a family; a powerful story of ordinary people in the tradition of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Steven is fifteen; his family have recently moved to Salt Lake City, where they are living in a small rented house towards the bottom of a hillside dominated by the big silent houses of the wealthy Mormons. Steven is bullied by the Mormon kids and one day he is attacked by a gang who dislocate his shoulder. Steven's father, Billy, a small man with big dreams, insists on driving his son to the hospital to save on the cost of an ambulance. Arriving in Casualty, it emerges that Billy has fallen behind with the health insurance payments and the family is uninsured. Billy angrily seeks out the father of the boy who has attacked Steven, who immediately writes out a cheque to cover the medical expenses and much more. Billy blows all the money in a month, forcing his wife Mary to take a job in an old-people's home, a job she detests. Months later, an old man dies in Mary's arms at work, while, on the same day, the children discover that their father has comprehensively failed the accountancy course on which the family has spent three thousand dollars they can ill afford. The next day Mary announces to the children that she is leaving their father for another man, a man who lives in precisely the kind of huge house with a swimming-pool that Billy has always promised his wife and children...Finally Mary has had enough, more than enough; the stage is set for the collapse of a Steven's family...

About this title

Review:

"Admirable...Brilliant...Fulton is wincingly sharp on female materialism... [The characters] are drawn with emotional exactitude and profound tenderness" (Daily Telegraph)

"Make no mistake, this is one of the finest debuts in years. It is a treasure of a debut, beautifully written, a humane reminder that money is not everything despite the message behind the American Dream" (Sunday Tribune)

"A heartbreaking story of shattered dreams. A promising, emotionally-charged first novel" (Big Issue)

"A rigorous portrayal of the contemporary family, More Than Enough is riveting in its emotional acuity and unflinching honesty" (Peter Ho Davies)

"Fulton pins his characters painfully and honestly to the page" (Guardian)

From the Publisher:

A stunning portrayal of the break-up of a marriage and the collapse of a family; a powerful story of ordinary people in the tradition of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0434010243
• ISBN 13: 9780434010240
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256