The Junk-Drawer Corner-Store Front-Porch Blues

Description

From Publishers Weekly In this quip-packed novel from the author of Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? , narrator Donald Cooper, a divorced father and gag writer in L.A., reassesses his life and finally comes of age. Donald is gloomy: the results of his lung biopsy are pending, his girlfriend has just stormed out of the apartment, it's his 45th birthday and no well- wishers have called--not even his elderly mother back in Chicago. Donald himself has avoided his hometown since his younger brother's death 25 years ago. But when he learns that his mother has been hospitalized after a fall, he rushes to her bedside. She persuades him to retrieve some items from the house where he grew up, and returning there allows him to begin a protracted eulogy to Danny, who died at 18. In no particular order, he recalls baseball games, family dinners, holidays and dating, telling how Danny, his closest friend, shrugged off competition though he was a natural at sports and easily won girls over with his mature sensitivity. Powers based this novel on a one-man show, Scissors, Paper, Rock , in which he toured the country in 1989; reading it is like watching a series of home movies. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Library Journal Do not be misled by the awkwardly hyphenated title. Powers, author of The Last Catholic in America ( LJ 2/15/73) and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? ( LJ 12/1/75), offers a well-crafted tale of humor and redemption. The story follows comedy writer Donald Cooper as he returns to his family home and confronts the grief he has carried for 20 years. Cooper's memories of growing up in a Chicago neighborhood, Saturday baseball, evenings on the porch, and unfinished lives are counterpoised with the complexities of his present relationships. Told as a series of flashbacks interspersed with ironic commentary, the result is a funny and poignant tale of the human journey and family bonds. An excellent addition to all fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/91.- Jan Blodgett, St. Mary's Cty. Records Ctr. & Archives, Leonardtown, Md.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more See all Editorial Reviews

Features:

Product Details:

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (February 28, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525934057
• ISBN-13: 59
• Product Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 20 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces

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