On Ice

By Red Evans

When fiddler Tyrane Percival chokes to death on a chicken bone in a West Virginia barnyard, his young protege, Eldridge Brewer, takes it pretty hard and feels compelled to bring his old friend peace... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1601640153
• ISBN13: 9781601640154
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Kunati Inc.
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

New Kid on the Block

Move over Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn, there's a new kid on the block. Eldridge (Eldy) Brewer has arrived. In Red Evans wonderful new novel, On Ice, twelve year old Eldy along with his sidekicks, Felton Haliday and a farting dog appropriately named Whistler, embark on the ultimate road trip. Eldy, with all the salesmanship of a 3:00 AM infomercial, talks Felton into using his 1959 Studebaker pick-up, yellow of course, into the simple task of transporting a corpse from Appalachia to Louisiana. Naturally, Whistler tags along, and saves the day for the intrepid travelers more than once. Simple, right? Well, not exactly. This engaging novel will touch your heart and tickle your funny bone, an unlikely combination in today's cynical environment. Try it and see; you'll be back for more.

A Vacation in a Book

Red Evans has created a picaresque tale full of wit, charm, and heart. With Southern humor and escapism at its best, On Ice keeps the adventures coming and the corpse fresh (in a kiddie pool full of ice)--though nothing can mask the scent of the young hero's flatulent dog. A Delightful Read from Red!

SOMETHING SMELLS GOOD

This is William Faulkner after smoking mushrooms and penning As I Lay Dying. Finally, more good Southern fried literary mischief, and it comes in the form of some scraggly and hilarious characters ... and a dog. You can't ever go wrong when you've got a dog in the story, and I'd have to say the dog might now live famously in the history of comic literature ... but what you really take away from this wonderfully funny and heart tugging tale is the feeling that if you never give up and continually defeat the lunatics in your life like certain suit salesmen ... then you'll win. There's no doubt in my mind. And I know because I'm sort of a lunatic. Todd Sentell, author of Toonamint of Champions

Booklist gives On Ice five stars

Booklist reviewer said this about On Ice: Part road novel and part cornpone comedy, this appealing story follows 12-year-old Eldridge Brewer, legendary banjo player Felton Haliday, and a farting dog named Whistler as they make their way south in a 1959 Studebaker truck. They carry with them the corpse (preserved in a kiddie pool full of ice) of fiddle player Tyrane Percival, Felton's former band mate, whose dying wish was to be buried next to his one true love. Dodging a nosy sheriff and a gang of scraggly, mean-spirited bikers, Eldridge and Felton bond over music, tall tales, and their increasingly hilarious attempts to control their flatulent dog. After a series of misadventures involving a hot-air balloon, an Indian chief, and an eccentric suit salesman, the two finally bring Tyrane to his final resting place. Evans' humor is broad but infectious, and his dialogue is tinged with a southern twang and chock-full of colorful expressions. Like novelist Clyde Edgerton (who also has a soft spot for ornery pets), Evans uses offbeat humor to both entertain and move his readers. -- Joanne Wilkinson

Joy ride...

Just once in a blue moon does an author come along who has the ability to make you care deeply. Not only does Red Evans take you along for a hilarious and heartwarming ride down to Louisiana to bury a loved one in ON ICE, he does it in a way that will leave you forever changed -- better for it somehow. Evans' main character, the young Eldridge Brewer, had me in the palm of his hand from the first time he watched a chicken lay an egg. His motives and sense of wonder are pure. In ON ICE, all is innocent again. Everything matters. I suspect the world may rarely have another author like Red Evans who can grab right through your chest and touch whatever matters to you most. I highly recommend ON ICE if you want to feel alive again and remember the faith you had as a little child. Red Evans' On ICE makes the beauty of this world a tangible thing.