The Suburbs of Heaven

Drown, Merle

ISBN 10: 1569471827 / ISBN 13: 9781569471821

Published by Soho Pr Inc, 2000

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Synopsis:

With his lovely wife being paid to dance nude for his wealthy brotherinlaw, his son embarked on a life of drugs, and his daughter a prostitute, life has pushed Jim, a New Hampshire trailer park inhabitant, to the absolute edge.

Review: "Drown knows the language of despair and exploits it with blistering acuity, ingenious turns of phrase and colloquial metaphors. [He] evokes with withering, sympathetic insight the sociological quirks of this New Hampshire clan of sad sacks." Newsday "[The] characters are captivating in all their human frailty." Library Journal "Antic, tender, and bittersweet...Narrated in the convincing voices of the five Hutchinses, the story veers from ribald to tragic...Throughout, Drown's language shines, and even his most misguided characters are fully alive, resonant, and original, speaking with quiet, piercing wisdom." Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A tense blend of hilarity and savagery...Lots of edgy, quick humor." Kirkus Review "Brutal and hilarious... a mini-masterpieces of Southern Gothic, gone north." Gallery "Drown clearly has affection for his cast, and he isn't slumming: he knows what a motel housekeeper's job entails, how a trailer's plumbing system works." The Boston Book Review "Drown's earthy, graceful hilarious prose, explores love and marriage, friendship, the power of money and poverty, middle-aged regret, and other baggage of life. As funny as it is poignant...as fine a piece of literary as it is a provocative story." Portsmouth (NH) Herald Sunday "Drown has created a dead-on community of characters where The Beans of Egypt, Maine meets Tobacco Road in a trailer park in Penacook Country, N.H. Hold on to your pickup; it's quite a ride.' Roanoke (VA) Times & World-News "Biting, ribald...engaging characters...What gives The Suburbs of Heaven much of its charm are the voices of its narrators, the five Hutchinses. Each of them is endowed with a similar blunt and idiosyncratic eloquence. Energetic plotting...Ironically, it is the comedy that gives [the characters] stature and even dignity, as they pick themselves up after each new mortification." The New York Times

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Suburbs of Heaven
Publisher: Soho Pr Inc
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: hardcover
Condition: Very Good