The Compleat Dartshooter - Softcover

Pappalardo, Pete

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1425953123 ISBN 13: 9781425953126

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2006

Synopsis

The Compleat Dartshooter is a dark and whimsical look at the worldthat lies nestled in the bosom of every small town in America. From the moment that the orphaned exile Aznap"Nappy" Ochnas meets a charismatic mafia bagman named Fletcher Widdy, the pairroam about searching for the meaning of life, or at least a good game of darts. From thebars and taverns of the coal country in Northeastern Pennsylvaniato the New York Open, the pair challenge each other and all comers for moneyand fame on the dart circuit. Thecompetition is not limited to the dartboard: Nappy is heir to his late father'sdeeply held belief in truth and beauty, while Fletch's worldview is far morecynical. The picture gets even morecomplex when Nappy falls for Patti Pulkowski, Fletch's ex-lover and a top-ranked dartshooter in her own right. What Nappy sees as a lark that will distract him from his losses and a dead-endfuture quickly turns sinister when Nappy's niavete leads him to break hisword to Fletch and his cronies. Add a briefcase full ofmob money, some dysfunctional Mafioso, Socrates, the law, sinus conditions, murder,Descartes, pride , tobacco and the North Carolina Coast, and you have a fun and compellingexamination of the landscape and personalities that make up small-town America. The Compleat Dartshooter is a tale of love,violence, faith and adventure and of two men's existential stuggle to make sense of a seemingly senseless world.

About this title

About the Author:

Thisis Peter Pappalardo's second novel in as many years. His first, Bluegrass, detailed the life and times of a small-town, semi-professionalbluegrass band in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Pappalardo has taught writing, English and thesciences for 25 years, and has written humor columns and stories about musicand the arts in Northeastern Pennsylvania for the last fifteen. An inveterate musician with informal training, he plays stand-up bass, guitar,mandolin and nose flute with several different bluegrass, old-timey, gospel andIrish bands, many of which are called "The Lost Ramblers." Pappalardo was born and raised inthe small village of Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pennsylvania, and his family becamerefugees as a result of the ill-fated Tocks Island Dam project when, in1970, the Army Corps of Engineers did tothe locals what the locals had done to the Indians. Pappalardo claims to be the founder of a rare groupof native Americans known as the "Awopaho Tribe," and his writingschronicle a disappearing local way of life which is rapidlybeingsupplanted by suburbs and "citiots", a fate he terms "death byburbicide." He is currently working on his doctorate,which he will receive when he is too old to do anything useful, a modusoperandi which has thus far prevented him from making any massive faux paux ormoney. Pappalardo has been rejected by allthe best and brightest agents and publishing houses in New York City and has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows andrecordings. He has played music, cards and board games with famous peopleincluding the entire Duke basketball team of 1977, the late Mr. Greenjeans ofCaptain Kangaroo fame, Bob Dorough, who penned the popular songs for ABC's"School House Rock" and many other fine and famous musicians and raconteurs whomake their home in and around the Poconos. He is an outdoorsman, erstwhiledartshooter, tile mason and woodworker, and the father of four fine sons, allof whom fortunately favor their sainted mother.

About this edition

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1425953123
• ISBN 13: 9781425953126
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 212