Oh!

By Mary Robison

Book Overview

""At first, Oh seems a satire, a sitcom stripped of its sentiment and foolishness. But it is far more. Mary Robison is trying to show us how the the incredibly complicated dance of family life works."" --The New Yorker

Those who know Mary Robison's work will not be surprised that her first novel leaps from one prodigal moment to the next, for as Kenneth Burke has said of this startling writer, ""Robison outguesses the shrewdest reader--even several times on a single page.""

In Oh , these marvels have their source in a summer's romp with a madcap Midwestern family flourishing under the eccentric protection of a father like no other. He is the wifeless Mr. Cleveland, now an enthusiast at gardening and insobriety since passing from active service as ruler of his soda-pop and miniature golf domain.

Cleveland's is the contented life of the man who knows who he is. The same might be said for his motherless children, Mo and Howdy, though they are scarcely children still. The loutish, loafing Mo is, in fact, a young single mother to little Violet.

Like the rest of the Clevelands, Violet is nobody's fool. For in all their seeming misadventures, the Clevelands are guided by the reliable intelligence of the heart. Beneath the pastel frames of their lives, the Clevelands have modeled a design for living with the unlucky nature of things, a way of being happy in the world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1640090916
• ISBN13: 9781640090910
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

If you can get your hands on it, it's worth the read. Try your public library. Robison's use of dialogue to develop rich, 3-dimensional characters is amazing. This novel will have you laughing constantly. It's refreshing to read about a dysfunctional family who don't do too much damage to each other. Also read her outstanding novel Why Did I Ever

Lightyears away...

Is Mary Robison's "Oh!" memorable? Well, tonight I was browsing for Alice Munro's new collection of short stories when I saw Robison's name. When my husband and I were first married (20 years ago), I bought a load of hardback books marked down to $1.99 each from a department store that was going out of business. While browsing tonight, I wondered if that Robison was the same who'd written "Oh!" And it was! I can't recall exactly the plot, but I do recall laughing out loud and wondering about the delightfully eccentric characters in the book. I even remembered--pretty much--what the cover looked like. In fact, it's a shame it's out of print. I'd like to read it again.

Twister...

Perhaps you've seen the movie Twister. Not the one with Helen Hunt. You know, the weird one with Crispin Glover. Well, it was based on "Oh!" I enjoyed the movie so much, I looked for the book. Lo and behold, my brother found a used copy at Powell's bookshop in Oregon. All I can say is that Mary Robison writes about situations that may seem absurd, but are so true to life. Her short stories just seem to drift off, like life itself."Oh!" is the same way. This book makes me feel alive.Yes, I know this is an awful review, but as a result of reading this (and all Mary Robison I could get my hands on), she became my favorite author. She is the master of the vignette, and her characters seem so real. She grips you with life and doesn't let go...