Items related to Show Me Good Land
Synopsis
Show Me Good Land is the debut novel for author Shonna Milliken Humphrey. Likened to work by Carolyn Chute and Cathie Pelletier, Show Me Good Land details four lives, each connected to a rural northern Maine community by the same gruesome murder. Odie Hollander solves the murder while spending time in jail on a domestic violence assault charge. Miles Compton, gay, is a listed sex offender after having a relationship with an underage student. Emmett Pratt manages the local gas station and is accused of killing his aunt. Rhetta Ballou is driving home after leaving town as the teenaged mistress of her high school teacher almost two decades ago.
Show Me Good Land looks hard at constructed social norms, especially those in the confines of an isolated, poor, rural area. Is violence ever justified? Abortion? Underage sex? Underage gay sex? No character is fully good or fully bad, and the pleasure of this book's reading lies in discovering where individual moral lines are drawn.
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From the Inside Flap
"When the court-appointed lawyer left, and Odie was led back to his cell, he leaned his thick shoulders against the concrete wall and stretched his legs on the wool-covered cot. His cell was tiny, but there was a narrow Plexiglas window behind the toilet, and Odie watched the colors through the scratched plastic. It was twilight, and the setting sun cast dull yellow shadows on the gray walls. His mother had been dead all day."
Set in fictional Fort Angus, Maine, "Show Me Good Land" tells the story of a small rural town struggling with poverty, loss, and acceptance after decades of prosperity. Loosely linked through the murder of Odie Hollander's mother, its characters must navigate the ambiguous moral landscape of a decaying community. It is a moving, sometimes melancholy, often funny novel about family, community, loss, redemption, and coming home. The pleasure lies in exploring the personalities of the characters, none of whom are all good or all bad, and eventually deciding where the reader's own moral lines are drawn.
Not since Carolyn Chute's "The Beans of Egypt, Maine," has a cast of characters been so shocking, beautifully rendered, and ultimately likeable.
Review
"..rich sadness of Shonna Humphrey's characters, her haunting portrait of a bewildered, isolated community, reminded me powerfully of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio." -Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Empire Falls
"a murder mystery, a gentle romance, a wry, ironic comedy...a love letter to Aroostook County, Maine, its potato farmers and meth addicts...A remarkable debut...Spellbinding." -Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of She's Not There
"..a true and utterly distinctive American voice, full of the grit and texture of place, compassion and authenticity. Every page feels real."
--Joyce Maynard, author of The Good Daughters and At Home in the World
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- PublisherDown East Books
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 0892729163
- ISBN 13 9780892729166
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages200
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Show Me Good Land
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ISBN 10: 0892729163
ISBN 13: 9780892729166
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Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. Set in fictional Fort Angus, Maine, Show Me Good Land tells the story of a small rural town struggling with poverty and decay after decades of prosperity. Loosely linked through a grisly murder, its characters must navigate the ambiguous moral landscape of a waning community. It is a moving, sometimes melancholy, often funny novel about family, community, loss, redemption, and coming home. The pleasure lies in exploring the personalities of the characters, none of whom are all good or all bad, and eventually deciding where the reader's own moral lines are drawn. Not since Carolyn Chute's The Beans of Egypt, Maine, has a cast of characters been so shocking, beautifully rendered, and ultimately likeable. From this portrait of a hard-scrabble rural community struggling with poverty and decay after decades of initial wealth and prosperity emerges four main characters: Odie Hollander in jail on domestic violence and drug charge; his cousin, manager of the gas station; Rhetta Ballou, returning after twenty years away; and Miles Compton, twenty-one, and gay. Loosely linked through one particular murder, none of the characters is fully good or bad, and the reader must decide where their personal moral lines exist. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780892729166
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