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Strip Cuts
Welcome to Cherry Run, Pennsylvania, the epitome of a “blink and you’ll miss it” American town, where the jobs are dead-end, the ultimate dream is hitting the lottery, and the only apparent escape is drinking at the Ruffled Grouse.
In story-like chapters, Strip Cuts spans a seven-year period, beginning with and centering around Seth Hardy, a young man struggling to come into his own despite a dreaded nickname and the low expectations of those around him.
We meet other residents as well, including a middle-aged man and woman who drift into an adulterous affair, a vacuum cleaner salesman who doesn’t take no for an answer, a man who battles his hairy back, a Peeping Tom who is confronted by the object of his desire, and an elderly couple who get lost in a snowstorm and end up on the most astounding journey of their lives.
Often humorous and always sincere, Strip Cuts rings with universal truth, capturing Cherry Run’s residents in their most private and defining moments. David Drayer’s debut novel presents a unique and memorable look at the heartache and hope of a small town, where the land and the people have been stripped bare for all to see.
In story-like chapters, Strip Cuts spans a seven-year period, beginning with and centering around Seth Hardy, a young man struggling to come into his own despite a dreaded nickname and the low expectations of those around him.
We meet other residents as well, including a middle-aged man and woman who drift into an adulterous affair, a vacuum cleaner salesman who doesn’t take no for an answer, a man who battles his hairy back, a Peeping Tom who is confronted by the object of his desire, and an elderly couple who get lost in a snowstorm and end up on the most astounding journey of their lives.
Often humorous and always sincere, Strip Cuts rings with universal truth, capturing Cherry Run’s residents in their most private and defining moments. David Drayer’s debut novel presents a unique and memorable look at the heartache and hope of a small town, where the land and the people have been stripped bare for all to see.
- GenresFiction
Audible Audio
First published March 1, 2000
5 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
David Drayer
6 books8 followersDavid Drayer is the author of the novels Strip Cuts, Something Fierce, and A Noble Story. Born in the small town of Rimersburg, Pennsylvania, he has lived all over the country. He holds an MFA from the University of Iowa and has worked dozens of jobs, including stints as a construction worker, English professor, landscaper, ghostwriter, corporate trainer, and instructional designer. Drayer has a penchant for impromptu, open-ended motorcycles trips, long hikes, and good food.
Learn more at DAVIDDRAYER.COM
Learn more at DAVIDDRAYER.COM
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 23, 2013
Most of the students in the class have never read an entire book. They admit this proudly, a badge of honor among those who "hate English." "This book is different," I tell them. "Give it a shot. One chapter. If it doesn't grab you by then, you don't have to read it." [Not a big gamble for me really since I've already used this book a dozen times with dozens of not-yet-college-ready students, and I've not had even one who's complained about it.] The next class session plans itself: They are shocked that a book can be so "good"; "Why'd you make us stop after one chapter," they want to know. And so it goes. For the next six weeks or so, we read, discuss, reflect upon, ENJOY Strip Cuts by David Drayer. The students write up a storm. They tell me which characters they love, which ones they don't; they tell me why Seth Hardy is acting crazy; they get into the novel in a way that no other piece of writing has ever motivated my reluctant readers and writers. Strip Cuts is a winner from the very first page to the last. Some (even a few males) admit "The Smell of Snow" makes them cry. And the last chapter brings a barrage of questions: Does Seth leave? What happens to him? Is there a sequel to the book? If not, why not? So many unanswered questions; so much enthusiasm and interest. My students love Drayer's piece. I love it even more. By the time the semester ends, more than a few students admit that they're getting their "friends to read the book, too. I wanna find out what parts they like best." Can there be a better recommendation than that? Read Strip Cuts by David Drayer. You won't regret it.
August 9, 2013
Set in a small Pennsylvania town reminiscent of the lyrics from John Cougar's "Jack and Dianne," the vignettes about the residents of Cherry Run are woven together to charm, amuse, and surprise. The stories of everyday life define the community's eccentric characters, ranging from Hercules the garbage man to "Candy" Bracknell, high school teacher and object of adolescent daydreams, as they grapple with sometimes comical, sometimes difficult situations.
The mosaic of stories serves as a backdrop for the 13-year-old protagonist Seth Hardy, as he evolves from a boy to a high school graduate seeking his own identity in a turbulent adolescence. Through the vignettes, Seth forges his own path; ultimately, he promises to leave the mining town of Cherry Run.
The setting, dialogue, complex characters, and everyday challenges capture the spirit of a genuine small-town America; the core of the subject matter revives our own faded adolescent insecurities and triumphs. We find ourselves cheering for Seth as he struggles to transcend situations created by the irritating school bully, his own fears, and circumstances beyond his control. "Perspective is everything," he learns, as he gains the courage to face the complexities that life presents.
The mosaic of stories serves as a backdrop for the 13-year-old protagonist Seth Hardy, as he evolves from a boy to a high school graduate seeking his own identity in a turbulent adolescence. Through the vignettes, Seth forges his own path; ultimately, he promises to leave the mining town of Cherry Run.
The setting, dialogue, complex characters, and everyday challenges capture the spirit of a genuine small-town America; the core of the subject matter revives our own faded adolescent insecurities and triumphs. We find ourselves cheering for Seth as he struggles to transcend situations created by the irritating school bully, his own fears, and circumstances beyond his control. "Perspective is everything," he learns, as he gains the courage to face the complexities that life presents.
February 15, 2020
A great book that deserves to be on the shelf between Hemingway's early stories and Sherwood Anderson.
April 1, 2014
Well-known character sketches
I enjoyed these stories very much. Each one places two or three people from a small, dead-end Pennsylvania town into some situation and shows how they deal with it. There are some recurring characters, and in particular we get to see Seth Hardy at various points along his passage from adolescence to adulthood.
The author makes these characters feel natural and believable, and along the way he really gives us the feel of a small town where everyone is struggling just to keep going and eke out some kind of a living.
The most poignant story, "The Smell of Snow", deserves special mention. In it, a very elderly and forgetful couple lose their way and get into trouble in a snowstorm. We see the unfolding of events from their perspective, and it's beautifully done even as we become aware that what they think is happening is further and further away from what's actually happening.
It's a day since I finished the book, and longer than that since I started it, but several of the stories are still very "present" to me. This is not some fluffy beach read; these stories are for reading slowly and savoring.
I enjoyed these stories very much. Each one places two or three people from a small, dead-end Pennsylvania town into some situation and shows how they deal with it. There are some recurring characters, and in particular we get to see Seth Hardy at various points along his passage from adolescence to adulthood.
The author makes these characters feel natural and believable, and along the way he really gives us the feel of a small town where everyone is struggling just to keep going and eke out some kind of a living.
The most poignant story, "The Smell of Snow", deserves special mention. In it, a very elderly and forgetful couple lose their way and get into trouble in a snowstorm. We see the unfolding of events from their perspective, and it's beautifully done even as we become aware that what they think is happening is further and further away from what's actually happening.
It's a day since I finished the book, and longer than that since I started it, but several of the stories are still very "present" to me. This is not some fluffy beach read; these stories are for reading slowly and savoring.
April 20, 2014
Good fiction book of life in a Pennsylvania coal town.
Enjoyable book of tales from Pennsylvania's coal towns and what life is like there. Many chapters held my attention to the point of not wanting to put my Kindle down. I come from PA and spent many days in coal towns and riding act's in strip mines. Though the book is fiction, I think anyone interested in daily lives of coal town people would enjoy this book.
Enjoyable book of tales from Pennsylvania's coal towns and what life is like there. Many chapters held my attention to the point of not wanting to put my Kindle down. I come from PA and spent many days in coal towns and riding act's in strip mines. Though the book is fiction, I think anyone interested in daily lives of coal town people would enjoy this book.
July 19, 2014
A book about nothing and it was great. Very strange set up..each chapter was a short story about a person or people in a small Pennsylvania town. They weren't even full stories, just a small clip of a person's life or day. A few recurring characters with one being Seth Hardy, who pops up at different points of his life. The way the author was able to establish the characters in 10-20 pages was very good, better than some authors can do over 200 pages. Highly recommend.
January 1, 2023
Thoreau wrote more than a century and a half ago, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." In an episodic group of stories from the fictitious (yet all-too real) town of Cherry Run, Pennsylvania, author David Drayer tells the tales of the struggling folks of the Northern Appalachia town after the collapse of the coal industry. We find that even during the boom years of coal mining, life was overwhelming difficult; it becomes even more so after coal fades.
The story centers around young Seth Hardy, a source of hope in the midst of what sometimes seems like a hopeless place. Against all odds, Seth wants to be a writer, and refuses to believe he must live the life of quiet desperation so many around him have come to accept as their inevitable fate. Though Seth may be the focus of the novel, he is surrounded by a host of family, neighbors and classmates Drayer brings to life. The stories are often depressing, sometime hopeful, and frequently complicated thanks to the human frailties the author builds into his characters.
Though their stories may be very different in many ways, Drayer tells the story of struggling rural Pennsylvania in the way John Updike described the struggles and neuroses of the middle and upper-middle class of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Having lived about halfway between the two (literally and geographically) for most of my life, I have found common threads that draw me to both.
The story centers around young Seth Hardy, a source of hope in the midst of what sometimes seems like a hopeless place. Against all odds, Seth wants to be a writer, and refuses to believe he must live the life of quiet desperation so many around him have come to accept as their inevitable fate. Though Seth may be the focus of the novel, he is surrounded by a host of family, neighbors and classmates Drayer brings to life. The stories are often depressing, sometime hopeful, and frequently complicated thanks to the human frailties the author builds into his characters.
Though their stories may be very different in many ways, Drayer tells the story of struggling rural Pennsylvania in the way John Updike described the struggles and neuroses of the middle and upper-middle class of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Having lived about halfway between the two (literally and geographically) for most of my life, I have found common threads that draw me to both.
October 29, 2024
The cover of Strip Cuts shows the barren sparseness that the Western Pennsylvania landscape has to offer. But Drayer takes you beneath, above, behind, and beyond those layers, to a place like anywhere else-full of characters.
The book follows protagonist Seth Hardy through a series of stories of him growing up, and wanting to get out. In between these stories, Drayer seamlessly weaves stories of other characters from town, almost like little snapshots taken to make a collage of photographs that illustrates life accurately, full of humor, and of reflection, of living in Western PA.
The book follows protagonist Seth Hardy through a series of stories of him growing up, and wanting to get out. In between these stories, Drayer seamlessly weaves stories of other characters from town, almost like little snapshots taken to make a collage of photographs that illustrates life accurately, full of humor, and of reflection, of living in Western PA.
January 16, 2025
This wasn't my normal type of book I read, but I grew up in the area so someone recommended it to me. It really took me back to running around with my friends between Rimersburg and Clarion and how my mom still worries to this day about me driving in Pittsburgh (despite me now living in a city that's just as confusing to drive in). I also loved how we got vignettes into all the characters' lives as they tied into the overall story. But I took off a star because I can't stand student/teacher attraction and almost stopped reading the book during the part that hints at that.
December 3, 2020
Compelling, honest, and very readable coming of age story set in the mountains of western Pennsylvania.
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January 29, 2014Captures small town Western Pennsylvania
My family escaped a small town north of Pittsburgh in the early eighties. This book conveys the desperation of being trapped in a small town circling the toilet bowl perfectly. A little depressing to read but it was really depressing to live. David Drayer captured it.
My family escaped a small town north of Pittsburgh in the early eighties. This book conveys the desperation of being trapped in a small town circling the toilet bowl perfectly. A little depressing to read but it was really depressing to live. David Drayer captured it.
October 29, 2007
I learned that self publishing is not always good.
November 12, 2010
i think the book is excellent
January 26, 2014
Western PA including "yuns"!
January 19, 2016
Good book!!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews