Novel Words

How excited am I that George Singleton's new novel Novel: A Novel about a guy named Novel, who has a brother named James and a sister named Joyce, now sits at the top of my To Be Read pile? Very.  To get me ready, and perhaps you interested, here are a few links to some of the more recent reviews of the book:

From the Charlotte Observer: "Singleton lets his imagination run amok in `Novel'"

To say that George Singleton has a fevered imagination is a huge understatement. To say that he possesses a skewed sense of humor doesn't begin to do him justice. And "Novel," the Dacusville, S.C., writer's first attempt in that genre, makes his earlier work look almost tame.

From the Oregonian:

Let the world know: George Singleton, one of the funniest writers south of David Sedaris, has written a novel. After three hilarious story collections, the man who once said, "It seems that short story writers get pressured into novels. . . . For me, novels tend to ramble on slowly," pulls off the admirable feat of creating an entertaining novel that also pokes fun at the process of writing such a thing. Or you can think of it as a 335-page short story.

From the Mississippi Press:

George Singleton is a hilarious, unusual and talented southern novelist. "Novel" is his first novel and reads like a quirky run-on short story. And like the fun art of a quirky short story, this book has a lingering effect on the reader.

While "Novel" is southern in nature and style, the reader probably will pause and look up from the book long enough to wonder what psychedelic supplements George Singleton may have been experimenting in during his plot development.

From the Seattle Times:

Singleton writes with irreverence and wit. His characters say and do crazy things with sometimes tragic outcomes, but the author makes it all believable. For instance, "Novel" opens with an account of the death of Novel's mother-in-law, Vudge, and brother-in-law Irby in a car explosion. Irby is driving his mom home from the hospital after her lung surgery. She is still hooked up to oxygen. Irby lights a cigarette, and an ash sets off the explosion. It's ridiculous that Irby should choose to smoke after seeing his mom through surgery made necessary by her smoking. Novel is awash with guilt for not loaning Irby cash for nicotine patches. Instead, Irby buys a pack of smokes for the ride home that ends quickly.

What Singleton does best in "Novel" is fabricate characters from the raw material of his native South. Stereotypes of uneducated, slow-talking, slow-moving Southerners are exploited, then mashed like ripe melon on hot pavement.

Also, here's a brief interview and an excerpt.

Comments

[TJ]

Great news and reviews, indeed. This was already going on my list, and is now getting bumped up.

[Justin]

I keep forgetting to look for this at the bookstore. Must...remember...Singleton...