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At once tender and touchingly tragicomic, this third novel in the contemporary trilogy
containing THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and TEXASVILLE is a joy to read. Anyone who
has experienced disappointment with their choices and their day-to-day lives will be able
to identify with Duane --- an oilman in his sixties who up and decides never to drive a
motorized vehicle again.
To the consternation of Karla, his wife of 40 years, Duane not only parks his pickup in
the garage for good, his decision to walk everywhere soon leads to striding away from the
family home. Jam-packed with grown kids and kids-in-law, growing grandkids, a
bossy housekeeper, and the nonstop energy of Karla, the family home is hardly Duane's idea
of a castle. In search of simplification and a little peace and quiet, Duane
takes up residence in his rustic cabin six miles away.
With a determined and nosy wife, a blind secretary in her nineties, a best friend mourning
a lost testicle, and grown children with various addictions and attention-span problems,
Duane finds that divesting himself of his present life isn't quite as easy as he had
hoped. Just when he feels he might be finding his footing, tragedy strikes.
The story of Duane's depression and the ways in which he deals with it, replete with such
diverse elements as an unusual psychiatrist, the reading of Proust, and good-deed
gardening, is a story worth reading . . . for its humor, its honesty, and its unique take
on what is most valuable in life.
--- Reviewed by Jami Edwards
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