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Operation Dimwit: A Penelope Lemon Novel
Penelope Lemon is back for more madcap mom adventures in Inman Majors's hilariously unruly Operation Dimwit.
It's summertime, and son Theo is away at camp. Feeling frisky, free, and tired of living vicariously through nighttime trysts with erotic novels, Penelope can begin phase two of her postdivorce life. First on the agenda is a date with the mysterious Fitzwilliam Darcy, who lives in a mansion with his snobbish cat, Algernon, and who spends his spare time painting massive nude portraits.
Meanwhile, back at the trailer--park office, Penelope's boss, Missy, has become obsessed with getting rid of Dimwit, the backwoods interloper who may be stealing personal items from female residents. A sting operation to catch him in the act is planned, something so kooky and ill--advised that only a legendary goofball such as Missy could set it into motion.
Throw in a bully trainer at Penelope's new gym, plus an infestation of skunks that requires the services of a wildlife expert and homespun mystic known as the Critter Catcher, and it becomes clear that Penelope's two weeks off from parenting won't be as relaxing and incident--free as she hoped.
Building on the comedic hijinks of Penelope Lemon: Game On!, Operation Dimwit is a warmhearted look at the challenges of being a single working mom trying to stay afloat in the middle class after a divorce. Zany, stylish, and uproariously funny, this southern comedy will have readers laughing out loud at familiar absurdities of life in the twenty--first--century USA.
It's summertime, and son Theo is away at camp. Feeling frisky, free, and tired of living vicariously through nighttime trysts with erotic novels, Penelope can begin phase two of her postdivorce life. First on the agenda is a date with the mysterious Fitzwilliam Darcy, who lives in a mansion with his snobbish cat, Algernon, and who spends his spare time painting massive nude portraits.
Meanwhile, back at the trailer--park office, Penelope's boss, Missy, has become obsessed with getting rid of Dimwit, the backwoods interloper who may be stealing personal items from female residents. A sting operation to catch him in the act is planned, something so kooky and ill--advised that only a legendary goofball such as Missy could set it into motion.
Throw in a bully trainer at Penelope's new gym, plus an infestation of skunks that requires the services of a wildlife expert and homespun mystic known as the Critter Catcher, and it becomes clear that Penelope's two weeks off from parenting won't be as relaxing and incident--free as she hoped.
Building on the comedic hijinks of Penelope Lemon: Game On!, Operation Dimwit is a warmhearted look at the challenges of being a single working mom trying to stay afloat in the middle class after a divorce. Zany, stylish, and uproariously funny, this southern comedy will have readers laughing out loud at familiar absurdities of life in the twenty--first--century USA.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published May 13, 2020
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Inman Majors
7 books17 followersInman Majors grew up in Tennessee and now makes his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a professor of English at James Madison University.
PENELOPE LEMON: GAME ON!
“Penelope’s adventures in online Christian dating and parenting are hilarious.”—New York Post
"A laugh-out-loud funny tale...Majors' latest is a riot from beginning to end."
—Booklist
"Don't plan on getting anything done once you pick up the funniest book of 2018."
—CharlotteLit
"A light and lively sendup of modern woes."
—Kirkus Review
“Majors’ mixture of “sinners and saints” in his make-believe town of Hillsboro is a laugh-out-loud read.”
—Memphis Commercial Appeal
“Saucy and profane and funny on every page.”
—Nashville Scene
"Seriously racy and laugh out loud funny."—StyleBlueprint
“(Majors) willingness to put his characters through rough patches, that are both absurd and hilarious, makes the book a diverting page-turner.”
—Memphis Flyer
“Penelope Lemon is a high-spirited character who will keep you laughing.”
—Read it Forward
“Inman Majors is a sparklingly funny, immensely charming writer. PENELOPE LEMON gives us a hapless, scrappy, loveable heroine to root for and a whole cast of great characters.” —Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man and The Last Cruise
“If Penelope Lemon wasn’t taken, I’d be dating her myself. As hilarious as she is tough, Penelope is a heroine you can’t help rooting for. She also happens to be a fiercely loving mom with a giant heart. Once again, Inman Majors delivers a wildly entertaining Southern tale that’s funny, smart, poignant, and deliciously subversive.” —Michelle Richmond, author of The Marriage Pact
“In PENELOPE LEMON, Inman Majors captures a subversive, outrageously funny middle America. It’s like Bridget Jones’s Diary, but with a hilarious, small-town, rocker mother as its lead. I laughed out loud A LOT and cheered Penelope every step of the way.”—John Hart, author of The Last Child
LOVE’S WINNING PLAYS
“(A) delightful new comic novel about SEC football.” —Wall Street Journal
“One of the 20 best books of 2012.” —Bookpage
“Funny, irreverent and savvy." —Publisher's Weekly
“Laugh-out-loud comedy populates the narrative...A sardonic, fun take on big-time college football.” —Kirkus Reviews
“It is a gem of a comedic novel, so laugh-out loud funny that readers might not even notice that if also captures the essence of the sport with humanity and grace.” —Knoxville News Sentinel
“Genuine laughs on nearly every page.” —Bookpage
“The comedy, which ranges smoothly from broad to subtle, is nonstop…(T)he writing is witty and razor—sharp throughout.” —Booklist (starred review)
“You know how sometimes you read something that makes you laugh so hard you’re embarrassed to read it in public? That’s how I felt about Love’s Winning Play." —Eliza Borné, Book Case blog, editor-in-chief of the Oxford American
“A rollicking tale of Southeastern Conference gridiron madness.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Majors targets the ridiculousness of hype and hysteria over college football teams and is very funny doing it.” —Baton Rouge Advocate
“Strap yourself in—it’s a wild ride." —Library Journal
“I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud this much reading a book.”—Metropulse
“One of our sharpest, funniest writers.”—The Classical
WONDERDOG
“A sharp and hilarious novel.” —Booklist
“Majors scores big points with his cast of friendly eccentrics, zingy dialogue, and a plot that wanders across the Southern landscape like a crazed raccoon chased by a pack of wild dogs.”
—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Irreverent, hilarious, reportorial…Majors does it all.”—Knoxville News Sentinel
“Uniquely entertaining.” —Seattle Times
"If (Barry) Hannah is Southern Fiction's Howlin' Wolf, then Majors may well prove to be its B.B. King...Quick-witted and irreverent.” —Planet Weekly
“Wonderdog reads like Charles Portis cross-pollinated with Barry
PENELOPE LEMON: GAME ON!
“Penelope’s adventures in online Christian dating and parenting are hilarious.”—New York Post
"A laugh-out-loud funny tale...Majors' latest is a riot from beginning to end."
—Booklist
"Don't plan on getting anything done once you pick up the funniest book of 2018."
—CharlotteLit
"A light and lively sendup of modern woes."
—Kirkus Review
“Majors’ mixture of “sinners and saints” in his make-believe town of Hillsboro is a laugh-out-loud read.”
—Memphis Commercial Appeal
“Saucy and profane and funny on every page.”
—Nashville Scene
"Seriously racy and laugh out loud funny."—StyleBlueprint
“(Majors) willingness to put his characters through rough patches, that are both absurd and hilarious, makes the book a diverting page-turner.”
—Memphis Flyer
“Penelope Lemon is a high-spirited character who will keep you laughing.”
—Read it Forward
“Inman Majors is a sparklingly funny, immensely charming writer. PENELOPE LEMON gives us a hapless, scrappy, loveable heroine to root for and a whole cast of great characters.” —Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man and The Last Cruise
“If Penelope Lemon wasn’t taken, I’d be dating her myself. As hilarious as she is tough, Penelope is a heroine you can’t help rooting for. She also happens to be a fiercely loving mom with a giant heart. Once again, Inman Majors delivers a wildly entertaining Southern tale that’s funny, smart, poignant, and deliciously subversive.” —Michelle Richmond, author of The Marriage Pact
“In PENELOPE LEMON, Inman Majors captures a subversive, outrageously funny middle America. It’s like Bridget Jones’s Diary, but with a hilarious, small-town, rocker mother as its lead. I laughed out loud A LOT and cheered Penelope every step of the way.”—John Hart, author of The Last Child
LOVE’S WINNING PLAYS
“(A) delightful new comic novel about SEC football.” —Wall Street Journal
“One of the 20 best books of 2012.” —Bookpage
“Funny, irreverent and savvy." —Publisher's Weekly
“Laugh-out-loud comedy populates the narrative...A sardonic, fun take on big-time college football.” —Kirkus Reviews
“It is a gem of a comedic novel, so laugh-out loud funny that readers might not even notice that if also captures the essence of the sport with humanity and grace.” —Knoxville News Sentinel
“Genuine laughs on nearly every page.” —Bookpage
“The comedy, which ranges smoothly from broad to subtle, is nonstop…(T)he writing is witty and razor—sharp throughout.” —Booklist (starred review)
“You know how sometimes you read something that makes you laugh so hard you’re embarrassed to read it in public? That’s how I felt about Love’s Winning Play." —Eliza Borné, Book Case blog, editor-in-chief of the Oxford American
“A rollicking tale of Southeastern Conference gridiron madness.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Majors targets the ridiculousness of hype and hysteria over college football teams and is very funny doing it.” —Baton Rouge Advocate
“Strap yourself in—it’s a wild ride." —Library Journal
“I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud this much reading a book.”—Metropulse
“One of our sharpest, funniest writers.”—The Classical
WONDERDOG
“A sharp and hilarious novel.” —Booklist
“Majors scores big points with his cast of friendly eccentrics, zingy dialogue, and a plot that wanders across the Southern landscape like a crazed raccoon chased by a pack of wild dogs.”
—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Irreverent, hilarious, reportorial…Majors does it all.”—Knoxville News Sentinel
“Uniquely entertaining.” —Seattle Times
"If (Barry) Hannah is Southern Fiction's Howlin' Wolf, then Majors may well prove to be its B.B. King...Quick-witted and irreverent.” —Planet Weekly
“Wonderdog reads like Charles Portis cross-pollinated with Barry
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 3, 2020
My review from Chapter16.org:
https://chapter16.org/all-aboard-the-...
https://chapter16.org/all-aboard-the-...
October 10, 2020
Such a fun and hilarious book. Really enjoyed and needed some comic relief right now.
October 27, 2020
The characters were funny, the setting was great, but the book had basically no plot whatsoever. Most of it was about catching a skunk and then there was a bit about breaking into some creep's house. It feels like the author wrote a few chapters that would have been funny parts of an actual book, and then just elongated them into something long enough to call a novel.
November 10, 2020
This book was quite funny, but in a madcap way sort of not in line with my sense of humor. It seemed as though it was written by a woman; however, it was not. The protagonist, Penelope Lemon, gets very involved with the strange problems of her boss, who runs a sort of respectable trailer park on land owned by an eccentric petty thief, and skunks are involved.
Read
July 17, 2020it wasn't zanier.
October 21, 2023
Not as good as the first book but still funny
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews