Novel - by George Singleton (Paperback)

About the Book

Set in the town of Gruel, S.C., this is the tale of a young man named Novel, a professional snake handler who stumbles across strange doings and a decades-old town secret while he sits in a motel room writing his autobiography.

Book Synopsis

Set in the town of Gruel, South Carolina, this first novel by George Singleton, master of the comic short story, is the tale of a young man named Novel (his brother's name is James; his sister's is Joyce), a professional snake handler who stumbles across strange doings while he sits in a motel room writing his autobiography. As he struggles to recount his life story, he uncovers-and finds himself starring in-a decades-old town secret, one that can blow him and his fellow citizens sky-high. Funny as only George Singleton can be, full of Southern mischief and wit, Novel is a crazed and crazy fictional whirlwind of drinking, motel-living, art-forgery-committing, pool-playing redneck charm.

From the Back Cover

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

Review Quotes

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 disturb-ingly askew-at times, downright surreal-vision of the South." -ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"Sly, intelligent, hilarious."-THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER