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A blithe and redemptive seriocomic love story filled with country music, the
ghosts of Halloween, and an ironic brand of down-home religion.
Newly divorced and feeling the pain of separation from his family, Hud Smith
channels his regret into writing country-western songs, contemplating life on
the lam with his 8-year-old daughter, and searching cryptic postcards for news
of his teenage son who has run off with The Daughters of God, an alternative
Gospel-punk band of growing fame. Then he finds himself inching toward
reconciliation with his ex, tossing his whole talent for misery into question as
they head off in a borrowed school bus, hoping so very tentatively to bring the
entire family together again.
In this endearing misadventure that threatens to turn out right in spite of
it all, Schaffert writes a thin line between tragedy and hilarity, turning wry
humor and a keen sense of the paradoxical onto characters who deserve all the
tender care he gives them.
1.
To get through the afternoons that wound into early evenings,
driving a school bus along long country roads and driveways, Hud kept slightly
drunk. He sipped from an old brown root-beer bottle he'd filled with vodka.
There'd been a few times in the past when he'd gotten too drunk, when he'd
swerved too much to avoid a raccoon, and even once a sudden hawk swooping too
low. He made himself sick to think how he'd once nearly driven the rickety bus
in all its inflammability into an electrical pole. He knew what an ugly
notoriety such an accident would bring him. The whole world, Hud thought,
likes to mourn together and hate together when it can.
There was a man in town named Robbie Schrock, who, like some
fairy-tale hag, had murdered his own two boys with rat-poisoned candied apples
he'd dropped into their Halloween sacks. When the children died, Robbie
Schrock cried on the TV news and blamed the neighbors, and the whole little town
cried with ...
Gerald Shapiro
I can't get over the delight of Tim Schaffert's new novel, with an instantly appealing cast of characters that won my heart so quickly and thoroughly. And the ending, as sweet and transcendent as any I can remember, lifted me right out of my chair. Jennie Shortridge, author of Eating Heaven and Riding With the Queen
The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God is an honest and
unflinching story of families unraveled and the heartache and joy only loved
ones can spark in each other. With skill and tenderness, Timothy Schaffert
unfolds his characters' hopes, strengths, and frailties in this gorgeous novel,
revealing the crazy-quilt fabric of humanity. Midwest Book Review - Laurel Johnson
Schaffert breathes life into his characters with a delicate touch, lending a poignant dignity to even the oddest misfit. The result is life boiled down to its heartiest essence....[The book] is often humorous, yes, but thanks to Schaffert's story telling style it is not a cruel parody of life's rejects. These are lives made up of large and small failures, joys, and negotiations. And Schaffert makes them shine. Highly recommended.
If you liked The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God, try these:
by Meghan Daum
Published 2004
'Daum brings a crisp, wisecracking voice to her novel about Lucinda, a life-style correspondent for a morning television show, who, in search of a more interesting life, leaves New York for Prairie City, a fictional Midwestern town.'
by Jean Harfenist
Published 2003
In this funny, sad and somehow good natured book Jean Harfenist explores the interface between love and dysfunction through young Lillian whose voice will stick with you long after you turn the last page.
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