In the tradition of Fannie Flagg, veteran storyteller Helen
Chappell, acclaimed author of Giving Up the Ghost, presents a wry,
funny, and poignant novel about two sisters, their dead mother, and
a Chesapeake Bay town where anything can happen and frequently
does. Sometimes you have to go home again, even if you know the
trip is going to be one from hell. When Carrie points her van in
the direction of Oysterback, Maryland, her old hometown, she does
it only because she has no choice. Her momma, the indomitable
Audrey, has done the unthinkable: she's died. And it wasn't a neat
little Oysterback death either. No, it happened in Florida and
involved an alligator. But, then again, there was nothing
conventional about Audrey, even in life. The same could be said for
her daughter Carrie -- single, perpetually searching, and
professionally adrift, she has become an expert at yard sales,
sifting through the detritus of other folks' lives, then reselling
it to shops that sell antiques and assorted "collectibles." Her
sister, Earlene, considers Carrie a junk collector, but then
Earlene has devoted her life to being conventional. Married with
two boys, she has remained in Oysterback where she and her husband
run the View 'n' Chew, a combination video store-sandwich shop.
Momma had lived by the notion that a woman is incomplete without a
man and spent the years following her husband's death trying to be
as complete as humanly possible -- in the process working her way
through a whole parade of men. As best Carrie can figure, her
momma's last two flames were Alonzo Deaver, the town's resident
miscreant and a current resident of the state penitentiary, and
Jack Shepherd, a college professor on the run from failure and
boredom. Both had been granted carte blanche to crash at Momma's
house whenever the occasion should arise (be it Alonzo's planned
escape from prison or Jack's escape from his ratty little boat).
Once back in Oysterback, Carrie finds herself unwittingly caught up
in a family drama of epic proportions -- including Earlene's
resentment (which leads to a classic -- and very messy --
confrontation), a now-married ex-boyfriend's attempt to rekindle an
old flame, her own attraction to Professor Jack, and a roiling stew
of anger and grief over Momma's poorly timed passing. For while
Carrie never expected to go home again, she naively believed it
always would be there. A Whole World of Trouble is a delightfully
authentic comedy of Southern manners and an antic, frequently
hilarious, pointed, and moving novel by a writer who knows the
people and the world she writes about.
General
Imprint: |
Simon & Schuster
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
September 2007 |
First published: |
September 2007 |
Authors: |
Helen Chappell
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 140 x 12mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
224 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4165-7843-7 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
1-4165-7843-9 |
Barcode: |
9781416578437 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!