About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherGraywolf Press

ISBN-101555973124

ISBN-139781555973124

eBay Product ID (ePID)1769065

Product Key Features

Book TitleWar Memorials

Number of Pages240 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicLiterary, Humorous / General

Publication Year2000

IllustratorYes

GenreFiction

AuthorClint Mccown

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight17.3 Oz

Item Length10 in

Item Width5.8 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN00-101777

ReviewsWhat I like best in the gritty and tender and crazily funny book about men and women and the war for love we are constantly waging, is that Clint McCown has finally told the truth about being human: We have to make a living. We have to find love. And we have to take responsibility, whether we like it or not, for who we are. War Memorials is wonderfully well-written and meaningful to boot. What more can a reader ask?, "In an ordinary small Southern town, a war's being waged-- one that this amusing, sharp-eyed little novel makes extraordinarily vivid."--Kirkus(starred review) "In this wickedly funny novel, Clint McCown traces the aftershocks of a violent century as they reverberate through a small Southern town. Old grievances go off like forgotten land mines. New allegiances form under the pressure of loss and hope. Along the way we meet a Jesus impersonator, a snake-handling evangelist, a maestro of dynamite, a cook impaled by an arrow, an aspiring zookeeper, and a cast of other offbeat characters, all whirling around a comic hero who's struggling to mend a broken marriage. Into the lives of the overlooked and underpaid, those who dwell on the dark side of American prosperity, McCown shines the light of his wit and compassion."--Scott Russell Sanders, author ofHunting for Hope "Clint McCown'sWar Memorialsis a story about war of all kinds and memorials both obvious and subtle. Here is a prime piece of storytelling, rich in the rough and tumble of everyday life. Tinctured with ordinary melancholy, wry, witty, and sly, as well as laugh-out-loud funny."--Larry Heinemann, author ofPaco's Story, National Book Award Winner "What I like best in the gritty and tender and crazily funny book about men and women and the war for love we are constantly waging, is that Clint McCown has finally told the truth about being human: We have to make a living. We have to find love. And we have to take responsibility, whether we like it or not, for who we are.War Memorialsis wonderfully well-written and meaningful to boot. What more can a reader ask?"--Bret Lott, author ofJewel "Clint McCown's town brims with surprises. His hero, young Nolan Vann, is a repo man in a world of charms that want to seduce and derail him as he tries to repossess his life. His quest is our quest."--Ron Carlson, author ofThe Hotel Eden, "In an ordinary small Southern town, a war's being waged-- one that this amusing, sharp-eyed little novel makes extraordinarily vivid."--Kirkus (starred review) "In this wickedly funny novel, Clint McCown traces the aftershocks of a violent century as they reverberate through a small Southern town. Old grievances go off like forgotten land mines. New allegiances form under the pressure of loss and hope. Along the way we meet a Jesus impersonator, a snake-handling evangelist, a maestro of dynamite, a cook impaled by an arrow, an aspiring zookeeper, and a cast of other offbeat characters, all whirling around a comic hero who's struggling to mend a broken marriage. Into the lives of the overlooked and underpaid, those who dwell on the dark side of American prosperity, McCown shines the light of his wit and compassion."--Scott Russell Sanders, author of Hunting for Hope "Clint McCown's War Memorials is a story about war of all kinds and memorials both obvious and subtle. Here is a prime piece of storytelling, rich in the rough and tumble of everyday life. Tinctured with ordinary melancholy, wry, witty, and sly, as well as laugh-out-loud funny."--Larry Heinemann, author of Paco's Story, National Book Award Winner "What I like best in the gritty and tender and crazily funny book about men and women and the war for love we are constantly waging, is that Clint McCown has finally told the truth about being human: We have to make a living. We have to find love. And we have to take responsibility, whether we like it or not, for who we are. War Memorials is wonderfully well-written and meaningful to boot. What more can a reader ask?"--Bret Lott, author of Jewel "Clint McCown's town brims with surprises. His hero, young Nolan Vann, is a repo man in a world of charms that want to seduce and derail him as he tries to repossess his life. His quest is our quest."--Ron Carlson, author of The Hotel Eden, Clint McCown's War Memorials is a story about war of all kinds and memorials both obvious and subtle. Here is a prime piece of storytelling, rich in the rough and tumble of everyday life. Tinctured with ordinary melancholy, wry, witty, and sly, as well as laugh-out-loud funny., In this wickedly funny novel, Clint McCown traces the aftershocks of a violent century as they reverberate through a small Southern town. Old grievances go off like forgotten land mines. New allegiances form under the pressure of loss and hope. Along the way we meet a Jesus impersonator, a snake-handling evangelist, a maestro of dynamite, a cook impaled by an arrow, an aspiring zookeeper, and a cast of other offbeat characters, all whirling around a comic hero who's struggling to mend a broken marriage. Into the lives of the overlooked and underpaid, those who dwell on the dark side of American prosperity, McCown shines the light of his wit and compassion., "In an ordinary small Southern town, a war's being waged-- one that this amusing, sharp-eyed little novel makes extraordinarily vivid." -- Kirkus (starred review) "In this wickedly funny novel, Clint McCown traces the aftershocks of a violent century as they reverberate through a small Southern town. Old grievances go off like forgotten land mines. New allegiances form under the pressure of loss and hope. Along the way we meet a Jesus impersonator, a snake-handling evangelist, a maestro of dynamite, a cook impaled by an arrow, an aspiring zookeeper, and a cast of other offbeat characters, all whirling around a comic hero who's struggling to mend a broken marriage. Into the lives of the overlooked and underpaid, those who dwell on the dark side of American prosperity, McCown shines the light of his wit and compassion." -- Scott Russell Sanders, author of Hunting for Hope "Clint McCown's War Memorials is a story about war of all kinds and memorials both obvious and subtle. Here is a prime piece of storytelling, rich in the rough and tumble of everyday life. Tinctured with ordinary melancholy, wry, witty, and sly, as well as laugh-out-loud funny." -- Larry Heinemann, author of Paco's Story, National Book Award Winner "What I like best in the gritty and tender and crazily funny book about men and women and the war for love we are constantly waging, is that Clint McCown has finally told the truth about being human: We have to make a living. We have to find love. And we have to take responsibility, whether we like it or not, for who we are. War Memorials is wonderfully well-written and meaningful to boot. What more can a reader ask?" -- Bret Lott, author of Jewel "Clint McCown's town brims with surprises. His hero, young Nolan Vann, is a repo man in a world of charms that want to seduce and derail him as he tries to repossess his life. His quest is our quest." -- Ron Carlson, author of The Hotel Eden, "In an ordinary small Southern town, a war's being waged-- one that this amusing, sharp-eyed little novel makes extraordinarily vivid."-- Kirkus (starred review) "In this wickedly funny novel, Clint McCown traces the aftershocks of a violent century as they reverberate through a small Southern town. Old grievances go off like forgotten land mines. New allegiances form under the pressure of loss and hope. Along the way we meet a Jesus impersonator, a snake-handling evangelist, a maestro of dynamite, a cook impaled by an arrow, an aspiring zookeeper, and a cast of other offbeat characters, all whirling around a comic hero who's struggling to mend a broken marriage. Into the lives of the overlooked and underpaid, those who dwell on the dark side of American prosperity, McCown shines the light of his wit and compassion."--Scott Russell Sanders, author of Hunting for Hope "Clint McCown's War Memorials is a story about war of all kinds and memorials both obvious and subtle. Here is a prime piece of storytelling, rich in the rough and tumble of everyday life. Tinctured with ordinary melancholy, wry, witty, and sly, as well as laugh-out-loud funny."--Larry Heinemann, author of Paco's Story , National Book Award Winner "What I like best in the gritty and tender and crazily funny book about men and women and the war for love we are constantly waging, is that Clint McCown has finally told the truth about being human: We have to make a living. We have to find love. And we have to take responsibility, whether we like it or not, for who we are. War Memorials is wonderfully well-written and meaningful to boot. What more can a reader ask?"--Bret Lott, author of Jewel "Clint McCown's town brims with surprises. His hero, young Nolan Vann, is a repo man in a world of charms that want to seduce and derail him as he tries to repossess his life. His quest is our quest."--Ron Carlson, author of The Hotel Eden, In an ordinary small Southern town, a war's being waged-- one that this amusing, sharp-eyed little novel makes extraordinarily vivid., Clint McCown's town brims with surprises. His hero, young Nolan Vann, is a repo man in a world of charms that want to seduce and derail him as he tries to repossess his life. His quest is our quest.

Dewey Edition21

Dewey Decimal813/.54

SynopsisFrom War Memorials by Clint McCown : At first the lizard was just one more source of tension between us. Laney bought it secondhand from some woman down in Huntsville who said it kept her cockroach problem under control. She told Laney it was a fine lizard, whatever that means, and she flat hated to sell it but she was just about to get married and didn't think she's need a lizard anymore. I guess we all start out with high expectations. Jimmy Vann was twice reported dead in World War II, and only after reading his own glowing obituary did he find his true calling: selling life insurance. Jimmy's son, Nolan, falls far short of his father's expectations. With no war of his own to reckon with, Nolan lives a life without gravity in the small Southern town in which he grew up. During the span of a two-week carnival and in the midst of a failing marriage, Nolan finds work as a repo man and inadvertently begins a journey of self-discovery. On the fringes of town, where repo work is plentiful, he encounters an inspired cast of characters including a zookeeper who specializes in dangerous animals, an inconvenient corpse, and a family of snake handlers. Despite a seemingly endless series of mishaps, Nolan persists in his efforts to convince the reader-- and himself-- that his life means something ., From War Memorials by Clint McCown" ""At first the lizard was just one more source of tension between us. Laney bought it secondhand from some woman down in Huntsville who said it kept her cockroach problem under control. She told Laney it was a fine lizard, whatever that means, and she flat hated to sell it but she was just about to get married and didn't think she's need a lizard anymore. I guess we all start out with high expectations."Jimmy Vann was twice reported dead in World War II, and only after reading his own glowing obituary did he find his true calling: selling life insurance. Jimmy's son, Nolan, falls far short of his father's expectations. With no war of his own to reckon with, Nolan lives a life without gravity in the small Southern town in which he grew up.During the span of a two-week carnival and in the midst of a failing marriage, Nolan finds work as a repo man and inadvertently begins a journey of self-discovery. On the fringes of town, where repo work is plentiful, he encounters an inspired cast of characters including a zookeeper who specializes in dangerous animals, an inconvenient corpse, and a family of snake handlers. Despite a seemingly endless series of mishaps, Nolan persists in his efforts to convince the reader-- and himself-- that his life means "something."

LC Classification NumberPS3563.A2664W37 2000