Callisto - Softcover

Krol, Torsten

Softcover

ISBN 10: 8498381002 ISBN 13: 9788498381009

Publisher: Salamandra Publicacions Y Edicions, 2007

Synopsis

Odell Deefus, who's not the sharpest tool in the shed, has one goal: to "try my hardest to be a good soldier against the mad dog Islamites." But while driving to an army enlistment office in Callisto, Kansas, his '78 Chevy breaks down on the side of a country road, and it's only the beginning of his troubles. When he accepts a local's offer of shelter until the car is repaired, things go from bad to worse--worse as in murder, drug dealers, tenacious televangelists . . . and finding himself a prime target of the FBI, which thinks he's a member of a terrorist sleeper cell. And none of it bodes well for his unrequited crush on Condoleezza Rice. But fear, rash judgments, and extreme reactions are simply the norm in a post-9/11 world. Odell will just have to deal with it.

About this title

Review

"[Odell's] navet becomes a sharpened satirical tool as he confronts the flaws in the institutions he treasures... Readers...will enjoy the romp." -- Publishers Weekly

""Callisto" is an absolute joy and a rare pleasure. A work of stark raving genius. Imagine a collaboration by Sinclair Lewis, John Kennedy Toole, and Stephen Colbert--but funnier."--Adam Davies, author of "The Frog King"

"Funny, suspenseful, scary and, most importantly, the best portrayal of an American Innocent since Forrest Gump."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

""Callisto" is wickedly well-plotted and just plain funny... Deefus is an extraordinary character...like a grown-up Holden Caulfield in a crueler, more dangerous world."--John Barlow, author of "Eating Mammals" and "Intoxicated"

"[Odell's] na?vet? becomes a sharpened satirical tool as he confronts the flaws in the institutions he treasures... Readers...will enjoy the romp."--Publishers Weekly

"A witty sendup of the anxieties that make Americans so dangerous...barbed with enough tragedy to sting.... A macabre farce, a la the Coen brothers."--Washington Post Book World

"There's plenty to love.... Krol's best twist in a plot packed with them: our identification with his clumsy charmer becomes at once the scariest and most appealing thing about the book."--New York Times Book Review

"Torsten Krol pulls no punches with his modern farce.... He's crafted the perfect foil in Odell.... "Callisto" is a funny, smart and well-timed novel."--San Diego Union-Tribune

"Odell has one of those narrative voices that grabs you out of the gate and never lets go. Think "The Good Soldier Swiek" with a touch of "Confederacy of Dunces" and maybe even a little "Catcher in the Rye"."--Booklist (starred review)

About this edition

• Publisher: Salamandra Publicacions Y Edicions
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 8498381002
• ISBN 13: 9788498381009
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384