Set in the town of Gruel, South Carolina, this first novel by George Singleton, master of the comic short story, is the tale of a young man named Novel (his brother's name is James; his sister's is Joyce), a professional snake handler who stumbles across strange doings while he sits in a motel room writing his autobiography. As he struggles to recount his life story, he uncovers-and finds himself starring in-a decades-old town secret, one that can blow him and his fellow citizens sky-high. Funny as only George Singleton can be, full of Southern mischief and wit, Novel is a crazed and crazy fictional whirlwind of drinking, motel-living, art-forgery-committing, pool-playing redneck charm.
Front Jacket
Set in the town of Gruel, South Carolina, this first novel by George Singleton, master of the comic short story, is the tale of a young man named Novel (his brother's name is James; his sister's is Joyce), a professional snake handler who stumbles across strange doings while he sits in a motel room writing his autobiography. As he struggles to recount his life story, he uncovers-and finds himself starring in-a decades-old town secret, one that can blow him and his fellow citizens sky-high. Funny as only George Singleton can be, full of Southern mischief and wit, Novel is a crazed and crazy fictional whirlwind of drinking, motel-living, art-forgery-committing, pool-playing redneck charm.
Back Jacket
Praise for WHY DOGS CHASE CARS
"Singleton's hilarious insights come early and often."--The New York Times Book Review
"Singleton's style lies outside the usual briar patch. It's a cross between, say, Ralph Ellison and Molly Ivins . . . Singleton isn't just a killer at the hilarious one-liner, he can keep riffing on something good paragraph after paragraph, page after page."--The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Praise for THE HALF-MAMMALS OF DIXIE
"Singleton's relentlessly offbeat stories are a miasma of flea markets, palm readers, bowling alleys, and alligators, offering a disturbingly askew--at times, downright surreal--vision of the South."--Entertainment Weekly
"George Singleton is a madman. He's also one of the most talented American writers the South has turned out in decades."--The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
"Absolutely hilarious. It reads like a combination of the wry humor of Eudora Welty, the bizarre creations of Flannery O'Connor, and the crazy denizens of Edward Swift's Splendora."--Richmond Times-Dispatch
Praise for THESE PEOPLE ARE US
"George Singleton has the singular voice of a down-home schizophrenic. His stories are crazy mad fun."--Playboy
"George Singleton writes about the rural South without sentimentality or stereotype but with plenty of sharp-witted humor . . . A raconteur of trends, counter-trends, obsessions and odd characters."--Morning Edition, NPR
