The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living

by Martin Clark

In this masterful debut, Martin Clark proves to be the heir apparent of great Southern raconteurs and the envy of more seasoned novelists as he takes us on a frantic tour of the modern south.

Hung over, beaten by the unforgiving sun, bitter at his estranged wife, and dreading the day’s docket of petty criminal cases, Judge Evers Wheeling is in need of something on the morning he's accosted by Ruth Esther English. Ruth Esther's strange story certainly is something, and Judge Wheeling finds himself in uncharted territory. Reluctantly agreeing to help Ruth Esther retrieve some stolen money, he recruits his pot-addled brother and a band of merry hangers-on for the big adventure. Raucous road trips, infidelity, suspected killers, winning Lotto tickets, drunken philosophical rants, and at least one naked woman tied to a road sign ensue in The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living, one part legal thriller, one part murder mystery, and all parts all wild.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Southern, Humor, Contemporary, Novels, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Entertainment Weekly called Martin Clark “hands down, our finest legal-thriller writer.” The New York Times stated that he is “the thinking man’s John Grisham.” The Winston-Salem Journal declared that he has set “the new standard by which other works of legal fiction should be judged,” and David Baldacci praised him as “a truly original writer.” A retired circuit court judge from Patrick County, Virginia, Martin is a cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College and attended law school at the University of Virginia. When he was appointed to the bench in 1992 at age thirty-two, he became one of the youngest judges in the history of the commonwealth. His novels have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, and the audio version of The Substitution Order was a number one national bestseller. Additionally, his novels have been chosen as a New York Times Notable Book, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year, a Bookmarks Magazine Best Book of the Year, a Boston Globe Best Book of the Year, a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, a finalist for the Stephen Crane First Fiction Award, and the winner of the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award in 2009, 2016 and 2020. Martin received the Patrick County Outstanding Community Service Award in 2016 and the Virginia State Bar’s Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Award in 2018. His wife, Deana, is a photographer, and they live on a farm with dogs, cats, chickens, guinea fowl and three donkeys.

Reviews

[Jonathan K (Max Outlier) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

An unusual story with equally odd characters, I enjoyed it for the most part. Judge Evers Wheeling breaks the mold with legal professionals; drinking, pot smoking and pontification the basis. But this is the South there's no middle ground. Using dark comedy, plot twists and emotionally corrupt personalities, Martin Clark's storytelling stands alone. Engaging for the most part, its nothing like I expected; and that's a good thing since surprises are what life's about. This was the second book I've read from this author, and will research others. That said, for anyone who's stuck at home like I am, stories like these are welcome..I have to find a tablet now since libraries are closed and look forward to eBooks! Enjoy!

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many wheels spinning here, but ultimately it held my interest and made me laugh.

[Tooter · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Laura Belgrave · Rating 3 out of 5]

At some point in this book, maybe midway through, I had pretty much decided I didn’t like it all that much. Mostly, that’s because with one exception I just couldn’t like, respect, or cheer for the characters. Main character Judge Evers Wheeling is a screwed-up whiner. His brother, Pascal -- who lives in the mobile home referenced in the title -- is a lazy guy with no ambition beyond his next drink or marijuana hit. These guys, and most of the other characters, as harmless as they may be -- or more accurately, appear to be -- simply have no redeeming values and that doesn’t change. (The character I did like, Pauletta, is actually a secondary character.)

But the story itself has some very clever dialogue, twists and turns you won’t anticipate, and a quirky finish. About two-thirds of the way through, I could hardly put the book down and only did because the relatively small print totally trashed my ability to focus. I had the trade paperback version; the hardcover might be more generously presented. (I probably will be one of those who ultimately buys Amazon’s Kindle, just so I can bump up text size when I’m reading.)

Anyway, I imagine a lot of people will find the characters endearing. But even if you don’t, you might just get sucked into the story hard enough to overlook them.

P.S. I’m moving onto Martin Clark’s newest book, Legal Limits. I bought that without realizing it was another Clark book. Should be interesting to see how I perceive the characters in this one.

[Scottie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read.

After reading that Barbara Kingsolver's next book will be "The Lacuna", I was interested to see that Clark used the term in this book; ".....as if god had built the ground first, the sky second, and then, dissatisfied with the lacuna between top and bottom, joined the two together by wedging in the Appalachian Range." page 73

Another quote I like is "Most things are discriminatory in some sense, Judge Wheeling. Dumb kids don't get into good colleges. Try as they might, work like Trojans, they're just not smart enough. That's discrimination -they're being excluded because of the way they were born. Unattractive men and women cannot be fashion models. Congenitally hobbled people cannot compete in most Olympic events or drive a city bus. Accidents of birth. The world's full of doors and pits and barriers. You know that." page 236

And ".........and things got balled and knotted and jammed into a clump of poor timing and well-burnished idiocy that wouldn't move, wouldn't go anywhere." page 237

[Andrew Barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really not a fan of this book. It was boring and slow moving and I had no investment in the characters. The saving grace is that the story is interesting, has some cool plot points and was unexpected. But it took me way too long to read because I just couldn't get into it.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, irreverent -- not the typical mysteries.

[wally · Rating 4 out of 5]

started this one last year, finished it this year, the 1st of january 2018, (3:55 pee em) really good read, really liked it, four stars. kindle, library loaner. enjoyed how clark uses language, words, the manner he strings words together, better...he spent more time on that, the 1st...ummm, third of the story, you can tell. more work went into the 1st third or so...not that the other two-thirds of the story suffered, but the telling was great that first third...or so...language, use of. fun to read something where the writer strings words together in a manner not so common. he didn't do that as much later but still a good story. glanced at a review or two before i'd finished...always curious...and there's all manner of readers. some said southern gothic and yes, i agree, at least one was discouraged that so-and-so received little fan-fare...or something like that. i'd have to go back and find that review as i disagree...did the reviewer say the...black woman disappeared? or ruth esther? neither one did. so...dunno what gives there.

and as i was reading and enjoyed the great use of language, thought to my self, here's another...never heard word one about clark, martin, the many aspects of mobile home living: a novel and 't'would appear he has a number of stories...and those have received the fabled compare and contrast from some. anyway, thought, here's another great story-teller, yet another that i only now discover...though he's been telling tales for a few years.

so...yeah...say if you did the compare and contrast...has some of the same flavoring that i've discovered in others...reminds me much of padgett powell, especially the use of language...daniel woodrell...who else? the author of ray...who was that? larry johnson? harry crews...ummm...there's a pile of em. i've already down-loaded another story from the digital library and since they only had two available....went ahead and bought another...one or two. something. onward and upward.

[Kat Doll · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out great for me with the beautiful and wryly humorous use of language. I was really excited about Martin Clark's writing style and the offbeat characters. Kind of a southern-gothic style, which I love.

It had everything going for it. A mystery involving stolen money, a winning lottery ticket, and alabaster tears, no less. The crazy characters include a judge who drinks too much, his pot-smoking double-wide dwelling brother and his cronies, a star car saleswoman and her jailbird brother. Thus ensues various road trips, marital infidelity, a murder (or was it really a suicide?), and many many many of the main character's drunken meandering musings. But, but, but...

By the middle of the book, I was thinking... C'mon Marty, get on with it!

The pacing of the book sucks, in other words and the plot seems to grind to a halt in spots. Loss of a star for that offense.

[Georgette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny. Ultimately, not a book with a clear mission statement except to laugh. Which I did.

[Daniel C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Martin Clark's debut novel got rave reviews. One wonders why. And by "one," I mean myself.

There are lots of criteria you can use to grade books. Not all authors or novels aspire to great literary heights. Most of the time, in fact, all they want to do is entertain. I heard that this book was "funny," a "thriller," and "a rollicking carnival ride." The story is about a boozing judge who gets wrapped up in the hunt for a missing letter and, along the way, must deal with a blood-sucking spouse, clues to hidden treasure, and a murder (or is it a suicide?). Along for the ride are his stoner brother, a stone-cold lawyer goddess, and a woman who cries white tears. Sounds like equal parts Jonathan Carroll and Jeffery Deaver. Sign me up!

Wait. Sign me down. Or off. Or just erase my name.

I search, when I read books or watch movies, for an inlet or a handhold. Some place where my appreciations can find purchase. I'm just as willing to watch The Three Stooges as I am 8 1/2. I'll take Ween, and I'll take Wagner. Just let me know what to expect. Because what I expected in Clark's book was absolutely not what I got.

You might expect good or even decent writing. Think again. Clark has some skill, and in fact, those glimmers of talent are part of what drove down my opinion of the novel. Every thirty pages or so, he writes a paragraph or two that sings, something introspective without being cheesy, something that lingers. These rare and bright patches only reveal how tired and ugly everything else is. The rest of the book is unpolished, labored, a literary misfire. Clark's descriptive technique reads like a shotgun loaded with old cliches. In most cases, books that promise a "wild ride" move at a fair clip, setting aside any prosaic aspirations. Clark's prose, however, doesn't know what it wants to be. He muddles over fine detail as if it's important, like someone who is so busy counting threads in the curtains that they can't be bothered to check out the more interesting view beyond the window.

Forget the writing. Books don't have to be well-written if the characters are interesting. Women with white tears, a judge that boozes it up, a wild-n-wacky pothead brother: those sound like some real characters!

Mythbuster: they're not! I get it. A judge who can't get into a car without cracking a beer is sort of a nutty dichotomy, like a duck that's afraid of getting its feet wet, or a gym teacher who says things like "ewwwiee!" But irresponsibility and alcoholism aren't very interesting when nothing much comes of them. Protagonist Judge Evers and his ilk spend the majority of the book (I'd say 80% of it) smoking drugs and drinking. I'm not kidding. That's all they do. Oh, and they spout off the sort of ill-conceived, pseudo-philosophical nonsense that always sounds ground-breaking when your mental gears are slipping, but which usually proves to be less profound than pathetic when morning's harsh sobriety slips in. And, along those lines, the dialogue slips just as many gears as the narration; the dialogue fluctuates between passably authentic and just plain clunky. Near the end of the book, the characters begin to resolve into something approximating interesting, their edges start to solidify, but by that point, who cares?

So, forget the inconsistent prose and the unintriguing characters. A novel can still survive all of that if the story is engaging enough. The story here sounds wacky enough for a breezy, summer read, eh?

I don't think so. I get that "wild" and "rollicking" means there won't be much narrative coherency, and -- true enough -- the plot is a twine-and-twigs treehouse, a child's maze. I guess most would classify it as magical realism, but that's giving it far too much due. "Wild," "magical," and "rollicking," are far less apt than "silly," "clumsy," and "unpolished." That is to say, the story reads like it was made up on the spot. The judge's brother, Pascal, at one point describes himself as someone who has tried very hard to make his life uneventful; there is evidence of that in the plot, as well as evidence of an author who is trying equally hard to punctuate that listless meandering with anything he can think of that's wild and bizarre. Again, I'll grant that the conclusion of the whole mess was far more satisfying than I expected it to be -- in spite of the plot holes and loose ends, the conclusion was cohesive enough to be a real-live conclusion -- but it followed such mushy pap that I still felt cheated. The book's most interesting questions are left unanswered, and the story's least interesting plotlines took forever to resolve themselves.

Clark has the makings of a decent writer; you can see the evidence between the lines. It's just a bummer that those lines themselves are so childish and so ill-conceived.

[Kris Fabick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really had so many issues with this book that I wanted to give it one star. But since I managed to listen to the entire thing (no small feat for the visual learner that I am!) I figured I was being too harsh with just one star. I picked this up quite randomly and at the last minute so I had some "company" while I was driving all over the South commuting to and from various summer workshops and seminars (the life of a teacher!)

I was mostly intrigued by the title, and that intrigue continued on a regular basis after the boring introduction. I think I was left with more questions than answers at the conclusion, including: is it normal to mix beer and tomato juice, or was this just a quirk that Clark wanted to give Evers? Is Clark intentionally promoting the idea that women who have been nothing but chily and critical of a man would suddenly ask how he feels about having sex with her, or is this his actual experience with women? Why is it that Pascal, whose character the entire book is summarized by saying "Whatever" to everything anyone says to him (and sleeps with his brother's wife), all the sudden has both a conscience and inrinsic motivation to do something with his life (any by that I mean choose to go to prison when he could have walked free)? And what is with these names?? We are set in rural North Carolina, BTW.

Perhaps my greatest disappointment, besides the very one-note characters, is how Ruth Esther is some kind of inexplicable (way to not even try, Clark!) diety who is ageless, mysterious, and benevolent... or is she? I don't really get how Evers, who smoke pot, does cocaine, drives under the influence of alcohol (oh...and tomato juice...), and is an elected judge! is graced with the good luck talisman of Ruth Esther's albino tears (WTF?!?) while his wife who, although she is engaged in "the act of adultery" (really??) because her husband refuses to compromise with her on where they live (even though he admits later in the book that she was right to want to them to live in the city she chose!), is basically a good person with a good job that helps people clearly should die just because Evers is having a tough time swallowing his ego. Makes total sense, dude. Way to treat women as equals.

If you're looking for a book that challenges all your notions of normality in rural Appalachia and offers no reasonable explanations, look no more!

[Morgan Boothe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Lots of plot and lots of humor.

[Judy Vasseur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book from Amazon.com for 80 cents. It has arrived with a battered and torn cover. They promised "like new" but what do I want for 80 cents?

This book immediately engaged me. I'm hooked on this author now. If I had designed this book, however, I would have made the text at least a half point larger and a slight increase in the leading. That would have increased the pleasure of reading it.

So far the most shocking thing is that a wealthy judge smokes so much marijuana.

About half way through now. This book is making me feel on edge and suspicious kind of like if I just smoked too much pot in a basement apartment in Garfield N.J. and am standing in front of the windowless bathroom mirror taking my pulse to see if I'm still alive. It's making me crave junk food, fantasize about eating cheese doodles and think about maybe buying and frying some bacon. I also started thinking that maybe I would like to live in a doublewide.

Anyone for a pound of M&M's and a gallon of sweet milk? Okay here's the real mystery of the story: Pascal Wheeler is "a beautiful, handsome man" and Evers Wheeler is not fat at all.

Finished: An inventive and engaging first novel by Martin Clark. I'll read more of his work. In addition to all the little things to enjoy like heavy alcohol consumption, drug usage, junk food, extensive lying under oath in the court room, there's also a spy-type adventure, a murder, an unfolding love affair. Written by a circuit court judge, the court room and prison scenes are not to be missed. Mostly this book is about the relationship of brothers: Evers and Pascal Wheeler. It's also about the hand of fate. Personally my favorite scenes are the ones in which Evers Wheeler starts to go crazy, hallucinate, pass out or vomit all over his twisted sheets.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Clark has created a cast of characters who come alive and are oddly believable in their actions during the course of this novel. The inhabitants of this story generally don't conform to the standard ideas of behavior and tend to do what is necessary to enjoy the moment and disregard the future.

Judge Evers Wheeling, a pot smoker from Norton, North Carolina, is on his way to work when he's approached by a well dressed, attractive woman who asks for a moment of his time.

What transpires next is almost a scene we could expect from the Andy Griffin TV show. The woman, Ruth Esther, insists on privacy and she and the judge ene up in a vacant restroom in a local business.

Evers thinks he's being set-up and Ruth asks him to be lenient on her brother when he comes before the court. She adds the she helped steal $100,000. Her father was the mastermind but has died. She needs her brother for his part of the puzzle to find the money. She tells Wheeling that she'll share her part with him if he agrees.

Wheeling has a brother, Pascal, who lives in a mobile home and spends much of his time high on pot. While Evers put away much of his family inheritance, Pascal spent his and doesn't have a care in the world.

The story relates the attempt to recover the money and the surprises that await them as they go along.

We also follow the divorce attempt of Wheeling after he and the sheriff discover Wheeling's wife at a motel with a local farmer.

Filled with amusing moments, this novel certainly entertained. The book is for those who enjoy unusual characters doing improbable things and having fun while they do.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Clark's Plain Heathen Mischief, so I was really looking forward to reading this book.

Many Aspects... uses many of the same devices as Plain Heathen Mischief, including a likable but deeply flawed protagonist, unlikely pairings of mismatched characters, and a journey that ends up far different than one intended. Clark's style juxtaposes lines of stark prose with strings of adjectives - it keeps the tone of the novel light, and definitely works with the story.

My only complaint about the book is that it sometimes clobbers the reader over the head, rather than rely on a more subtle approach. While too much subtlety would not work in a humorous novel, there's no need to have the characters explicitly state what they learned at the end of the novel.

What ultimately makes this book work is the cast of misfit characters that cut across all aspects of life. Clark - while never treating them too sympathetically - clearly loves all of them.

[Brent Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is outrageous, funny, sentimental, hugely imaginative, and altogether refreshing. Billed as a "legal thriller", it's impossible to place it in a single category and frankly sells the story short. I'd say more like John Grisham meets Tom Robbins. With his "boozing and dope smoking" and selfish indulgences, Evers isn't easy to like, yet your find yourself strangely rooting for him and his motley crew. Some of the wild goose chase bogged me down at times, but that's my only criticism, and even those moments were surrounded by some vivid writing and hilarious moments. The nods toward the miraculous and supernatural and faith are fantastic - as Evers says, "this whole thing didn't make sense if you just look at it in ordinary terms."

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea from where this book appeared on my shelf. This was Clark's first novel and as frequently happens with Vintage Contemporaries books, it was really a great read. The novel opens when a very hungover Judge Evers Wheeling is accosted by a young woman standing in front of a coffee shop. She offers him a chance for money, which he doesn't need, and adventure, which he needs desperately, if he will let her recently drug busted brother go free so that they can collect the $100,000 that she, her brother, and her now deceased father stole from a drug dealing antiques dealer. This is a highly intelligent novel about faith and murder.
I have found a new author to add to my list of favorites. As far as I can tell, he has 3 other novels out all of which have won some acclaim.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. Part of me finds romance in spending my later years sitting on an old sofa outside a double wide manufactured home in rural Carolina (one of them, it doesn't matter which), in a marijuana addled haze waxing philosophical. Maybe that was what made the book and its characters so likable. The book was funny and clever, and the author who is a judge in one of those Carolinas is a good legal fiction writer, but not to the point where I'm telling anybody, "You ought to read this".

[Donna Arcara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My notes from 2001: "I had a love/hate relationship with this strange book, but in the end I decided I was glad I had read it. The very strange characters had no redeeming qualities, but seemed to be shallow, selfish bottom feeders. It took awhile to get through the haze of marijuana smoke and alcohol, but Evers Wheeling finally emerged and came to life; it was not a smooth revealing. I would be very careful who I recommend this book to, but it would be a perfect match for some tastes." When I wrote this, I rated it 4 stars... but the review sounds more like 3.

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, unpredictable, and refreshing. People's lives spinning in their own orbits occasionally crashing into each other. Courtroom scenes and legal maneuverings, police incompetence and small town sleaze. It has it all. Some other reviews said there were no likable characters but I found them for the most part interesting and sympathetic.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I frequently lose interest in novels half-way through. But this one pulled me in and kept me, either in spite of, or maybe because of its odd and not always likable characters.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been a few years since I read it, but seriously funny stuff!

[Christopher Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It surprised me how good this book was. Intelligently written and had a spiritual journey component despite delving into a high-level world of law. It was also outright funny.

[Lisa Daffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, strange read with a little mysticism, a lot of redneckism, some revenge, some brotherly love, a little film-flam, a little bit of everything.

[Beth Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is one of the weirdest books I've ever read. Enjoyed it and loved the characters.

[Taryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually peruse the mystery genre, but the title of this one caught me. Great characters and writing style.

[Diane Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd book. I didn't think I would finish it but ended up liking it. Not sure who I would recommend it to though.

[Terri Milstead · Rating 1 out of 5]

September 2019: This is not a thing to do with the writing, but why is the font so small in this book? I opened it and thought, oh boy, this is going to take longer than I thought.

Then I decided I wasn't going to keep reading it, mainly because I didn't care for the way women were treated in the book. So I guess it didn't take so long after all.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prose is outstanding. Many of the lines in the book border on the sublime.

That said the story is convoluted and exceedingly bizarre. Working through this was excruciating and I am pleased it is over.

I don't think I liked this book at all but the quality of the writing alone merits the five star review.