Fresh Eggs - Softcover

Levandoski, Rob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452284368 ISBN 13: 9780452284364

Publisher: Plume, 2003

Synopsis

Determined to save his family farm, Calvin Cassowary comes up with a scheme to raise chickens, producing eggs for Gallinipper Foods, but his plans are undermined by his ever-increasing debt and by the bizarre behavior of his chicken-loving daughter, Rhea. Original.

About this title

About the Author:

Rob Levandoski is the recipient of the Individual Artist Fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council. He lives on his family’s farm in Hinckley, Ohio.

From Publishers Weekly:

Levandoski (Serendipity Green; Going to Chicago) takes satiric aim at industrialized farming and the fads of the late 20th century in this adult fable. Calvin Cassowary is the reluctant heir to his Ohio family farm, where he moves with his uncomplaining bride, Jeanie. He converts it into a highly successful modern egg farm by teaming with megacorporation Gallinipper Foods. Jeanie gives birth to a daughter, Rhea, but five years later succumbs to illness and leaves Calvin widowed, a situation he remedies by marrying Donna Digamy, who is allergic to everything. Rhea is traumatized by the brutal realities of egg farming, a revulsion reinforced when she visits the corporate headquarters and sees genetically altered hens being cruelly prepared for their work as productive layers. She then develops a curious physical reaction of her own: she sprouts feathers. In the meantime, Calvin is beset by enormous debt, encroaching land developers who want the egg farm shut down and by the public's sudden decision to eat healthier and avoid eggs. The story evolves in the tradition of other modern, adult fantasies from such writers as W.P. Kinsella and Joe Coomer. Calvin is comically bewildered by life but never tragically confronted; Rhea, who even joins a county fair freak show at the age of 14 to help raise money, is precocious and sweet without being saccharine. The satiric examination of animal cruelty, Reaganomics and social change is sharp, but the use of ridiculously onomatopoeic character names and stereotypes leads it close to farce from time to time. Still, it is satisfying summer reading that resonates with bittersweet humor and wisdom. Fans of Fast Food Nation will appreciate this unique title for its activism, while the father-daughter story line increases its emotional resonance. Paperback rights sold to Plume.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0452284368
• ISBN 13: 9780452284364
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 252