From Away: A Novel

by David Carkeet

Denny Braintree, a wisecracking loner devoted to model trains, finds himself stranded in late-winter Vermont. His night at the hotel begins with promise, but then his prospective one-night stand walks out on him. Leaving town, Denny is mistaken for look-a-like Homer Dumpling, a popular native son who mysteriously disappeared from town three years earlier. Instead of correcting the mistake, Denny dons his new identity as easily as a Vermonter's winter fleece, and a good thing too-the woman he had hoped to sleep with has turned up dead, and Denny is the chief suspect. As Denny tries to unravel the mystery, he struggles to hide his true identity from Homer's increasingly suspicious circle of family and friends, including Homer's prickly girlfriend. In Denny, Carkeet has crafted a fast- talking bumbler whose instinct for survival will face the ultimate challenge, with readers cheering him on all the way..

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Novels, Humor

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off: this book requires a lot of suspension-of-disbelief; you can't do that, you won't like the plot here much.

That having been said, I thought the book a hoot. In the beginning, Denny came across as rather a self-centered jerk, but I felt he evolved quite a bit. He doesn't set out to hurt anyone, with the deception necessary because ... well ... he is innocent of the murder (death at any rate). One of the funniest scenes is mentioned in another review, where he draws attention to himself as Denny in order to confuse the police ("OMG - he's ass dancing!")

One aspect I found interesting was the author's gentle skewering of Vermont's ... artsy stereotype, with homeopathic politics and mandatory folk dancing. I am left wondering what the good folk of Montpelier think of the story?

Definitely recommended for those looking for something well written and funny, as long as you can buy into the premise that the locals buy into the idea of Homer having returned looking slightly different, and sounding a lot different.

[John Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the center of From Away is the novel’s richest accomplishment: the incomparable Denny Braintree. Tipping the scales at 300 plus pounds, Denny is large and in charge. He’s a selfish opportunist. He’s often horny and rude. Several of the Vermont locals who meet Denny for the first time think of him as a repellant personality. But there are unexpected and finely realized dimensions to Denny. For one thing, he has an exuberant inner life. His musings are not only funny but they convey an endearing sense of enthusiasm. And beneath Denny’s considerable size and bluster is his most revealing aspect: He’s a lonely man who keeps getting rejected by others, despite the self-improvements he tries to make. In his quietest moments, he wants to miniaturize the world, as he does with his model trains, and be its benevolent master.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Carkeet takes a squirrelly, kind of unlikeable guy (Denny Braintree) traveling on business and plops him into a stoic community in Vermont where he assumes the identity of someone that he's mistaken for (Homer Dumpling), which helps him avoid arrest in a hotel incident that turns out to include murder. The strange storyline made me keep wondering what would happen if the real Homer shows up. Where could this story possibly go? Will the real murderer be found before Denny's cover is blown? I had to find out!

I have to admit that had the author not been one of my favorite writing profs at UMSL back in the 80s, and had I not heard him read from this book a few months ago, I probably wouldn't have read it. But he was, and I did, and I got hooked.

(As a side-note, in a library fundraiser many years ago, Carkeet promised to name one of his characters using the name of a winner in a drawing. The winner was Paul Schoomer, formerly a local book store owner and city councilman. Paul's character in this book turns out to be a dog with some bladder issues, which made for some teasing at the reading I attended!)

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the silliest, most random, confusing book ever. I think that's why I just couldn't stop reading it. It was just so silly and ridiculous, but also funny and charming. My favorite part was when "Denny" felt that he had to lose his cell phone authentically by "ass dancing" it out of his pocket. That whole part at the restaurant was definatley worth reading twice.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Double Negative pretty much when it came out — 40+ years ago! I loved it. It seemed it would be Carkeet's only novel of detection, so I was amazed when From Away appeared on the Kobo list. I was a flatlander who lived in Vermont (twice!), so I had to have it. And, of course, I hoped that this novel would come up to the standards of detection and humor of Double Negative. It did! The protagonist narrator is a gem. And Carkeet does justice to Vermont and the population I remember. It is a place with many singular characters. So much fun!

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggled with this novel for the first 80 pages or so, then became engaged with the story and came to appreciate Denny, a crude bumbler who actually is a very decent guy. Homer was even more endearing. The fact that the setting is Vermont, my adopted state I’ve loved from my first visit, made me enjoy it more. My only quibble is the title, more associated with native Mainers to describe nonnative folks. Vermonters rather call us “flat landers”.

Recommend this picaresque novel. Five stars.

[Louise Goodrich · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not love this book, I have to say. The characters were unappealing to me. In the end it was all tied up and I appreciated it more, but I was underwhelmed.

[Sessygail · Rating 3 out of 5]

While quite preposterous, I actually enjoyed reading this book.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying to get into this book. Not sure I like the author's style but I will keep trying as the book group meets on Apr 6 so I have over a week. Set in Vermont so that decided me. Finished ready for book club tonight.

[Jim Leffert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read somewhere that David Carkeet is one of Alison Bechdel’s favorite authors, so I decided to give From Away a try. It’s a humorous Mobius Strip of a mystery story about a man named Denny Braintree, who likely has Asperger’s disorder (hence his intense interest in model railroad layouts) but might simply be a socially clueless, oafish guy who was brought up by parents who were circus clowns. Denny, whose life seems to be one misfire after another, ends up in Montpelier, Vermont, literally by accident.

Montpelier, a locale that resembles one of Denny’s imagined model train layouts, is an intimate place where everyone seems to know everyone else. To Denny’s surprise, quite a few of these people know him and greet him as an old friend, not as Denny but as Homer, a local who moved away ago three years and whom they are (mostly) happy to see return. Denny’s unexpected reception as Homer, while shocking, is also fortunate because Denny has become the main suspect in the disappearance of a local woman named Marge Plongeur, but one of the cops who is hot on the case is a pal of Homer’s.

Similar to Michael Frayn’s Skios, From Away takes readers on a suspenseful roller coaster ride as Denny repeatedly risks being exposed as an impersonator as he encounters one friend or associate of Homer after another. The way Denny manages to pretend to be Homer isn’t all that different, perhaps, from the way that Betsy, the blind desk clerk at the Ethan Allen Hotel, finds out who has walked through the door. Ultimately, the only way that Denny, pretending to be Homer, can rescue himself from the pickle he’s in is to solve Marge’s mysterious and evidently felonious disappearance himself, and amazingly, he ends up doing just that.

Denny isn’t the only off-kilter character in this offbeat book, in which the characters’ interactions make for some droll humor. Following the convoluted story of Denny and Homer, in which Denny is being Denny, but he’s also trying to be Homer, is like strolling through a hall with distorted mirrors on both sides. The plot isn’t exactly tidy—the narrative unfolds in fits and starts like a shaggy dog story, with some aspects of the plot left merely “roughed in” at the end. Nonetheless, From Away is a mind-bending, chuckle-inducing mystery story with entertaining and engaging characters.

[Julie Failla Earhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although not a native Vermonter, author and linguist David Carkeet has easily used his ear for language to replicate Vermontese is his latest novel.

The story opens on an icy patch of highway and protagonist Denny Braintree doing his best to correct the rented car’s steering before slamming into a guardrail. The accident sets the stage for Denny to assume a new persona, that of native son Homer Dumpling.

Denny, a model railroad enthusiast and writer, is desperate to shed his obnoxious image and step out of his social awkwardness. As he works toward convincing the hometown crowd that he is really Homer, Denny becomes the prime suspect in a murder. From Away is almost two novels in one: on one level it’s an old-fashioned murder mystery and on another, it’s a literary novel of social manners.

Plan on setting aside several hours when starting this howlingly funny story; it’s Carkeet at his best.

[Jodysegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 to parse the points.
This strangely funny novel opens as its protagonist, Denny Braintree, recklessly careens his car off the road in a Vermont snowstorm and closes mere months later with him aboard an Amtrak train headed home to Chicago. In between, Denny Braintree grows from a self-centered lump of a man, who regularly and often gleefully repels others with his obsessions, mannerisms, affect, insensitivity, and general obtuseness, into a more, if not entirely, sympathetic and empathetic human. He also fights off an accusation of murder, solves the crime, steals and saves the life of his doppelganger, and makes a friend. I can't beat the observation of a PW reviewer who described it as Hitchcock remaking Fargo. Denny Braintree brought to my mind the "hero" of E. Annie Proulx's Shipping News, though Braintree's redemption is far less transformative and much funnier.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The inimitable Carkeet has produced another sui generis novel, a delight to read, as all of his books are, and almost impossible to describe. Most people find plump Denny obnoxious and socially inept. When an accident forces him to spend an unscheduled night in Montpelier, he meets a woman who disappears and is later found dead. One of the policemen on the case suspects Denny; the other mistakes him for a beloved local figure, Homer Dumpling. To avoid suspicion, Denny pretends to be Homer, picking up snippets about his supposed past from a variety of gossipy locals. He even fools Sarah, the woman that the town regards as Homer's girlfriend, although the truth about their relationship is much darker. By the time Denny leaves Vermont, he's saved at least one life, identified at least one murderer, and found a long-hidden secret about his own past.

[Sandy Pfefferkorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second selection in Double Carkeet, which I just finished reviewing. This book was laugh-out-loud funny! Denny Braintree, a huge man who probably tips the scale at 300+, is a writer for a model train magazine. As he is driving in Montpelier, Vermont, he loses control of his rental car on a slick road and crashes. He spends the night in a local hotel and is accused of murdering a local woman with whom he hoped to have sex. As he is attempting to catch a plane out of town, he is accosted by two local policemen. One of them "recognizes" Denny as a local man--Homer Dumpling--who had been gone from town for three years. Rather than being accused of murder, Denny slips into the role of Homer and tries to stay one step ahead of the other cop who was not Homer's friend. Denny/Homer manages to fool the whole town until the real Homer shows up.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down. Madcap mystery that kept me guessing to the end. The story was a blend, cinematically speaking, of Fargo and Winter's Bone--the innocents juxtaposed with the criminals of Fargo and the backwoods malice of both films. Winter is a character in all stories. The humor of From Away is similar to Fargo but not the same. I would say it's dealt quicker in the novel to keep up with Denny's impatience with the slow-witted yokels. I appreciate that despite Denny's annoying personality and lacking physique, he still thought highly of himself. This is a fine lesson for all of us, not that the book's aim is to educate in this way.

Sparky was my favorite character. I also loved the exchanges between Denny and Betsy, which were sweet and funny. I gather Denny had a soft spot for Betsy since he had a close relationship with his parents, especially mom.

[Nicholas George · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was little too kooky--and not in a particularly amusing way--for my tastes. A word-loving writer for a model railroad magazine (!) visits Montpelier Vermont and immediately becomes a murder suspect. The only person who has actually interacted with him is a blind hotel manager, and soon everyone is else is mistaking him for a resident who's been gone for three years. Turns out the writer and the departed resident are both very obese and look practically identical. There's a lot of the wordplay and fun with language associated with Carkeet, but this quickly became much too complex, and the underlying mystery was fairly mundane.

[Northshire Bookstore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Denny Braintree, writer for a model railroad magazine, stranded in Montpelier, Vermont in a snowstorm, is mistaken for missing local Homer Dumpling. Denny soon becomes the prime suspect in a murder, first as Homer, whose identity he's assumed, then as Denny. Clever, very funny. -- Louise J.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far Away is an engaging and funny book. The characters and plot are so unbelievable that they could almost be real! The Vermont setting allowed for the kind of real characters who live there. It was ridiculous and silly, but kept me interested.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, smart book. Denny was a jerk, but he didn't care, and it was amusing to see how he got out of various situations. The doppelganger angle was a bit far-fetched, but the characters and the mystery make the book.

[Amy Paget · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure this comic novel is truly a mystery. Set in Vermont, the lead character assumes the identity of a local man missing for several years. The fact that the murdered woman lands in a pick up truck bed and is driven away from the scene of the crime just adds to many twists in this novel.

[Robin]

Co-worker said this was very funny and generally good from an author who hasn't published in a long time.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky, funny, set in the Montpelier area

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a strange book! The protagonist is not particularly likeable, but the story is clever and the writing is unique. I was anxious to see how it all turned out.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

From Away by David Carkeet was an ok book but didnt feel real interested in the book until the end

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for the recommendation, Susan B. This reminded me of "A Confederacy of Dunces." Brilliant dark humor.

[Jennifer]

I think I liked it!

[Lynn Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peculiarly funny. Guy cozy.

[Leslie Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

He's funny, but. Wish the last third of the book had been the last half. Stick with it; the ending's good.

[Rlsalvati · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book club selection for me. I had a very hard time getting into this book, then about halfway through couldn't put it down. I will read more from this author.

[T.S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have found all of David Carkeet's other novels to be brilliantly funny, decidedly clever, and admirably well-written. Not this one.