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Overview
An astute and comical dissection of the culture wars-by the author of the much-loved Modern Baptists
For More Than twenty years, James Wilcox has been cherished by reviewers and readers alike as one of the most talented American humorists. Since his classic Modern Baptists (picked by Harold Bloom as one of the few contemporary novels in his Western Canon), Wilcox has been charting the intricate spiritual topography of the South with inimitable wit and empathy. His "real comic genius" (Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review) has never been so brilliantly deployed as in this hilarious look at the peculiarly American cultural divisions of our times.
Synopsis
An astute and comical dissection of the culture wars-by the author of the much-loved Modern Baptists
For More Than twenty years, James Wilcox has been cherished by reviewers and readers alike as one of the most talented American humorists. Since his classic Modern Baptists (picked by Harold Bloom as one of the few contemporary novels in his Western Canon), Wilcox has been charting the intricate spiritual topography of the South with inimitable wit and empathy. His "real comic genius" (Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review) has never been so brilliantly deployed as in this hilarious look at the peculiarly American cultural divisions of our times.
The New York Times - Mark Sarvas
As in his prior novels, Wilcox's narrative, which skitters like a stone thrown expertly across a country pond, delivers a high quotient of whimsy—Pickens's assistant supplements his income by making office visits to floss his customers' teeth. Wilcox's books are full of flourishes like this, and they won't be to every reader's taste, especially those with a low threshold for quirkiness. His work is so crammed with complications—some subplots have subplots—that it's occasionally hard to know what matters.
But Wilcox has always been about more than broad comedy. His men and women, though often clownish, are rarely cartoonish. He has a Dickensian knack for animating minor characters and an eye for the telling detail.
Editorials
The New York Times Book Review
Appealing, generous, energetic . . . Wilcox has a Dickensian knack for animating minor characters and an eye for the telling detail.Patricia Clarkson
Wilcox writes about the South I know: the complicated, intelligent, educated, integrated, contemporary South. . . .He is sexy and passionate and messy.— O: The Oprah Magazine
Mark Sarvas
As in his prior novels, Wilcox's narrative, which skitters like a stone thrown expertly across a country pond, delivers a high quotient of whimsy—Pickens's assistant supplements his income by making office visits to floss his customers' teeth. Wilcox's books are full of flourishes like this, and they won't be to every reader's taste, especially those with a low threshold for quirkiness. His work is so crammed with complications—some subplots have subplots—that it's occasionally hard to know what matters.But Wilcox has always been about more than broad comedy. His men and women, though often clownish, are rarely cartoonish. He has a Dickensian knack for animating minor characters and an eye for the telling detail.
—The New York Times