Jamestown

Matthew Sharpe

ISBN 10: 1933368608 / ISBN 13: 9781933368603

Published by Soft Skull Press, 2007

About this Item

Spinning the harrowing tribulations of the Jamestown Settlement of Virginia into a twisted dystopic, yet darkly comic tale, Matthew Sharpe chronicles a group of 'settlers' fleeing a ravaged Manhattan down I-95 with aristocratic John Radcliffe at the helm. In an armor-plated war machine, these survivors will encounter snafus, leadership struggles by the continually ruthless Jack Smith, and a florishing romance with a Chief's daughter named Pocahontas conducted throughtext-messaging, and ultimately telepathy. 'Jamestown' is a trenchant commentary on America's past and present that confirm Matthew Sharpe's status as major talent in contemporary fiction.

Seller Inventory # 756826

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Jamestown
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1933368608
• ISBN 13: 9781933368603
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • FICTION-GENERAL

About this title

Synopsis

Jamestown chronicles a group of "settlers" (more like survivors) from the ravaged island of Manhattan, departing just as the Chrysler Building has mysteriously plummeted to the earth. This ragged band is heading down what's left of I-95 in a half-school bus, half-Millennium Falcon. Their goal is to establish an outpost in southern Virginia, find oil, and exploit the Indians controlling the area. Based on actual accounts of the Jamestown settlement from 1607 to 1617, Jamestown features historical characters including John Smith, Pocahontas, and others enacting an imaginative re-version of life in the pioneer colony. In this retelling, Pocahontas's father Powhatan is half-Falstaff, half-Henry V, while his consigliere is a psychiatrist named Sidney Feingold. John Martin gradually loses body parts in a series of violent encounters, and John Smith is a ruthless and pragmatic redhead continually undermining the aristocratic leadership. Communication is by text-messaging, IMing, and, ultimately, telepathy. Punctuated by jokes, rhymes, "rim shot" dialogue, and bloody black-comic tableaux, Jamestown is a trenchant commentary on America's past and present that confirms Matthew Sharpe's status as a major talent in contemporary fiction.

About the Author

Matthew Sharpe is a novelist and short story writer. Born in New York City, but grew up in a small town in Connecticut. Sharpe graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. Afterwards, he worked at US Magazine until he went back to school at Columbia University, where he pursued an MFA. Since then, he has been teaching creative writing at various institutions including Columbia University, Bard College, the New College of Florida, and Wesleyan University.

He is the author of the novels Nothing Is Terrible, The Sleeping Father, Jamestown and You Were Wrong, as well as the short-story collection Stories from the Tube. His stories and essays have appeared in Harper's, Zoetrope, BOMB, McSweeney's, American Letters & Commentary, Southwest Review, and Teachers & Writers magazine. He teaches creative writing at Wesleyean University.