The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living

by Martin Clark

Book Overview

In this masterful debut, Martin Clark proves to be the heir apparent of great Southern raconteurs and the envy of more seasoned novelists as he takes us on a frantic tour of the modern south. Hung... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375407251
• ISBN13: 9780375407253
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 345 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Smart and Wild

How many books do you run across which are thought-provoking and full of wild plots and wonderful characters? The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living has all this and more. I couldn't figure out how the author was going to tie all this toghether at the end, but he did, and the ending just left me shaking my head. You'll not find a better book out there. This one takes chances and breaks all kinds of rules, but it really works. Hope to see Evers and Pascal and Pauletta again soon.

Relaxing read

Part legal thriller, part humor, and even a bit spiritual, "The Many Aspects..." is a very smooth and relaxing read.Circuit court judge Evers Wheeling finds himself, his pot smoking, heavy drinking brother and friends on a cross-country journey from N.C. to Utah to retrieve a hidden treasure. The treasure comes by the way of a mystical woman who cries pearly tears, Ruth Esther English. She promises a part of the fortune to Evers if he will drop her brother's case when he appears in court before him. Prompted by a sense of the wealth and a sense of adventure, Evers agrees.As the group sets off to retrieve the treasure they are joined by Ruth Esther's almost militant-like, black lawyer Pauletta. Some of the books funniest moments occur when the conservative, southern-bred Evers and Pauletta trade barbs.The treasure, stolen drug money, is also found to include a mysterious letter that Ruth Esther goes to any length necessary to keep to herself. Curious about the content of the letter and the mysterious tears that Ruth Esther produces (which they believe are wish-bearing and build a shrine for) the group sets out to find the truth behind it all. In doing so and as their wishes come true, they reveal hidden and truths and feelings about themselves that they didn't even know existed.It may seem weird, but while reading this book I was taken in by a sense of tranquility. Clark has a very calm and soothing way of writing. Instead of the sudden and abrupt plot twists and turns associated with thrillers, the "go with the flow", almost melting-like writing is like a breath of fresh air. Although containing no real edge-of-your-seat, nail biting theatrics, there is plenty of suspense and intrique to keep the reader thouroughly engrossed.

Southern Fiction's Triumphant Return

Clark's first novel is a rollicking read, a classic Southern novel. With his artful prose and well honed vocabulary, Clark tips his hat in the direction of other fine Southern writers that have preceded him, while remaining strikingly fresh and new. This novel takes us on a serpentine trip, both literally and figuratively, as we explore not only the North Carolina and West Virginia landscapes, but also take the occassional side trip into the inner workings of our revered legal system. Not to mention a drug laced exploration or two into the meaning of life. Clark has managed, in these short 350 pages, to conjure up and slay many of our most feared demons, from the classic disillusionment of our post-graduate times to the spiritual abyss that so many of us have adopted as our safe haven. And he has done it through the introduction of a cast of rascals and ner' do wells that tug at your heartstrings like long lost friends. While the task seems to be nearly overwhelming on its face, Clark manages to twine all of the pieces into a solid rope, leaving only one question unanswered at the surprising conclusion of this excellent first work--Where is my Ruth Esther? This is a must read!

A true original - funny and twisted and new

I admit that the title alone is what drew me to this book, but the author doesn't disappoint: THE MANY ASPECTS OF MOBILE HOME LIVING is as odd and beguiling and clever as its title promises. It's no white trash epic, but actually a weird and compelling ride with a young, spiritually lost judge of the New South and his brother, a charming rogue with his own problems. Their misadventures and romances and conversations are never less than entertaining, but Clark has more on his mind than that. He uses his characters, so strange and complicated that they seem as real as any fictional people you'll ever encounter, to explore many important themes -- success, the American Dream, race, the meaning of life -- in a subtle and yet thrillingly original way. At the end, I got the feeling you always get from the best books, that everything the author wrote is true and that all the characters you met are off living their lives in the same fits and stalls and moments of transcendence we all experience, and if you knew them or had their phone numbers you could just call them up and talk about whatever goofy things you talk about with your real friends. The blurb on the back compares him to Hiassen, but entertaining as Hiassen is, I think Clark is a deeper and rarer bird, already more accomplished in limning real people and the things they do - if not as sharp with plot, which at times seems almost incidental. But the writing is so good it doesn't matter.