Novel

by George Singleton

Praise for WHY DOGS CHASE CARS "Singleton's hilarious insights come early and often."-- The New York Times Book Review "Singleton's style lies outside the usual briar patch. It's a cross between, say, Ralph Ellison and Molly Ivins . . . Singleton isn't just a killer at the hilarious one-liner, he can keep riffing on something good paragraph after paragraph, page after page."-- The Atlanta Journal Constitution Praise for THE HALF-MAMMALS OF DIXIE "Singleton's relentlessly offbeat stories are a miasma of flea markets, palm readers, bowling alleys, and alligators, offering a disturbingly askew--at times, downright surreal--vision of the South."-- Entertainment Weekly "George Singleton is a madman. He's also one of the most talented American writers the South has turned out in decades."-- The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) "Absolutely hilarious. It reads like a combination of the wry humor of Eudora Welty, the bizarre creations of Flannery O'Connor, and the crazy denizens of Edward Swift's Splendora."-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Praise for THESE PEOPLE ARE US "George Singleton has the singular voice of a down-home schizophrenic. His stories are crazy mad fun."-- Playboy "George Singleton writes about the rural South without sentimentality or stereotype but with plenty of sharp-witted humor . . . A raconteur of trends, counter-trends, obsessions and odd characters."-- Morning Edition, NPR

Genres: Fiction, Southern, Humor, Contemporary

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Sonja · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first started reading this, I thought I would like it. It started out kind of funny, with the explosion and the weight loss clinic, but as it went on, it just kind of got nonsensical.

I'm still trying to figure out what the point was. Orphans turned into art forgers, a clan of hill people in civil war garb fighting with the forgers over what art is? Not to mention the overdone novel jokes. I have no idea what I read, honestly.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take the town that acts as a trigger for George Singleton's protagonist, Novel, the town he (and we) probably ought to leave immediately if we ever make the mistake of going there in the first place, as a satire of southern fried stereotypes. It might be funnier that way.

Otherwise, there are some great one liners and unabashed humiliations levied against Novel by the Gruel insiders that don't quite add up into an enjoyable reading experience. Several great ideas germinate teasingly below the surface and ultimately fail to blossom, especially Novel's step-siblings. When I think of the great collection of short stories this could have been, I'm echoing the comments of many other readers, the protagonist, and probably the author, too, who has written better received collections, at least one so far set in the town of Gruel.

Look for the true source of the noise in the mountains.

[Shin Machine · Rating 1 out of 5]

worst book i have ever read.
i would never recommend this to anyone since reading it was totally a waste of time.

the protagonist (if he's ever the 'protagonist') is so lame and seems as if he himself is bored with this book.
this novel ids plotless, or there may be a plot, but it is very weak and would not get anyone excited. i really hate how the author had overwritten everything in attempts to make it funny when actually noting is funny at all. it was not even one of those witty punchline-filled crap and i am very disappointed with this.

i mean, who would like a worse-than-drunk guy talking about how much his hometown sucks?
there are no good characters.
no charm.
no sense.
nothing but loads of crap spitted by a pessimistic pathetic bastard.

i hate this so much.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was like being on acid. All over the place and really odd. I could not get into it and the author could not stay focused. The book did have some rather quite humorous descriptive scenes, but overall the book was choppy and nerve-wracking in how it flipped back and forth between time periods.

[Helga Cohen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book Novel by George Singleton was an odd story. I had a hard time getting into this one. It is about a man called Novel who owns a hotel and is trying to write. There are excerpts about him growing up that are humorous at times, but the characters introduced are weird not likable. Novel is determined to write an autobiography but finds out there is a lot he does not know about his wife, her family and his adopted brother and sister and the town he lives in. This story meanders and is hard to follow. Singleton’s short stories are the better read.

[Melissa Fowler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Halfway through, just can't force myself to finish this book. Guy owns a hotel, is trying to write, interspersed with stories about him growing up and assorted weird characters. It's like taking a long, meandering walk with early-onset dementia. Quirkiness is admirable, but not in economy size doses.

[Rachel Dyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't remember how this book got on my to read list, but I can tell you that it was not good.
The writing style was extremely hard to follow, and it always felt like I just understood the edge of what was happening. Also, no likable characters.
I couldn't finish it.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mildly funny at first, but "one-liner" writing style quickly becomes consistently irritating. Don't waste your time.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't read this book!
Read his other books, but stay away from this one.
It's a mess

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I ended up giving this one two stars. I didn't hate it, but I didn't quite like it, either.

Frankly, what I needed was a "it was weird" button!

[Bobby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overly-reliant on awful puns.

[readwithmi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This whole story felt a bit pointless and hard to follow. The "jokes" were forced and every plot twist was too ridiculous.

[Tisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Singleton is well-known in the south for his irreverent, hilarious, and stereotypical portrayal of southern folk of all kinds and the weird little towns they occupy. This is his first novel, and it follows that line. I read it as a total distraction from the Coronavirus stay-at-home order because I needed to laugh and be taken away from my surroundings in a fun way. The story did that for me. I enjoy Singleton’s onslaught of language contortions and his ability to turn a horrifying event into something bizarrely amusing. Writers will appreciate his humorous, biting portrayal of authors at the writers’ retreat that Novel (the title character) creates from an old hotel. When reading Singleton, I always feel that his brain is bursting with puns, plays on words, irony, and tricks with names and situations. He’s a fun read, is knowledgeable about many topics, and infuses his work with plenty of cultural literacy references. Just know that he builds on southern stereotypes—rednecks, hussies, fakers, and good ol’ boys—so don’t read his stories if that offends you. We southerners love to laugh at ourselves!

[Chef · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ah man, what the heck is this book?

It's not a novel, as the title and page count desperately want you to believe.

It's not a collection of great characters, as all of them (and there are MANY of them) feel like flat stereotypes. The most important ones never feel developed enough even though much of the book tries in earnest to develop them.

It's not really a story, either. It's a trudge through scenes designed to move forward half-baked commentary on ... something ... and a vessel for jokes. Some are funny, most aren't.

And it's not fun, in the least. It's actually kind of enraging in all of its feet-dragging, navel-gazing, and tail-chasing.

Novel is somehow a combination of Squidbillies, The Truman Show, and jazz music, but none of the good parts of any of those things—despite how much I wished it would become so.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an odd beast of a book, which I love dearly. Not sure how I came across it, but I wouldn't give it up for the world.

It's rather unexplainable, it's awkward and gritty but in a fun way.

[Michael Galindo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept waiting for this book to get good. I kept waiting for the plot to come together. It never did.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is David Sedaris meets Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Had it's funny moments and a few I actually laughed out loud at but mostly just because it is so ridiculous. Some parts were hard to follow, and things got crazy for a while there. There were strings of events, snippets of a poem/story he's writing, and current actions strung together in a drunken pile. Good and weird, but a quick, different read.

[Vicki Carvalho · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like cynical humor you'll love it! This book follows Novel's day to day life as things continue to get worse and worse for him. Novel's determined to write an autobiography but realizes there's a lot he doesn't know about his wife, her family, his own adopted brother and sister and the town he lives in.

[Elizabeth Birr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. I really loved this book up until the last 10 pages... It was a very abrupt ending for a book with so many storylines and directions. So maybe if you don't want to be disappointed just don't read the last chaoter.

[Tanyadee Reyes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read any book but this one if you're going to read George Singleton.

[Hillary roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://purplemoonmyst.blogspot.com/20...

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

South Carolina; protagonist named Novel, has two elder adopted twin siblings from Ireland (his parents were mistakenly labeled sterile), named James, and Joyce. James, Joyce, and Novel.

[Beth Shields-Szostak]

1st edition

[Tristan Yi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was crazy, and crazy awesome. It's a smart book for smart people who are tired of pretentious authors.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love him. Clever. Dry. Met him on a plane. Great guy.