Townie

by John Butman

Book Overview

Townie takes place in Oldon, Massachusetts, a burgeoning New England village that has become the favored residence of the mega-rich, a town whose historic past has been preserved and polished until it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579620809
• ISBN13: 9781579620806
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Permanent Press (NY)
• Length: 215 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

3 Cheers for Townie!!!

I really enjoyed the characters and laugh-out-loud dry humor in Townie. From an unlikely beginning to an unpredictable but enjoyable end, Townie was entertaining and thought provoking. It's a fast read but full of insights. I highly recommend it!

Townie... Visit It!

Despite the need to admit that acquiring and reading the book was based on my being a close friend of a friend of John Butman's, I realized as I read that it is a damned good book. I expected this debut novel to be interesting, good, nicely written.... more than enough reason to read it. I did not expect to be riveted....to be held in suspense... to laugh out loud.... to sadden.... to recognize people.... to mark passages for repeat reading.... to wonder if a little bit of Alan Theo Lowe is hidden somewhere in John Butman. Wonderful!

I loved 'Townie'

I loved Townie. The twists and turns kept me reading from the first page to the last. I really felt I knew the characters. And it made me laugh. A great book!

Quirky Characters You?ll Love

I really enjoyed this book - it's a quick, fun read. You will undoubtedly enjoy Butman's quirky characters - Alan Lowe and Arthur Worthy - in Townie. Their personal idiosyncrasies provide a humorous undertone to every scene in the novel. Butman's humor is smart and satirical. Though both Lowe and Worthy are intelligent, they are at opposite sides of the social spectrum in Olden. Lowe lives his life as a sort of hobo living alone in the woods, despite his well to-do upbringing and inheritance. Worthy is a wealthy businessman living alone in a huge custom-built mansion, who has sacrificed his personal life for his career. Alan Lowe becomes Worthy's butler and we glimpse the absurdity of life as an upperclass suburbanite and businessman through Lowe's (aka Theo) eyes. Some of the scenes are bittersweet, though, as they reveal the loneliness of both men. But in the end, through their odd friendship, they both find out what's important in life. I found their journey, while amusing, to be thought-provoking as well, almost like a modern fairy tale.

The best book I've read in years!!!

I understand that "Townie" is up for the Pulitzer Prize AND the National Book Award. If I were judging it would win both! I was reading it at stop lights. Funny, provocative, engaging. Great story telling. Completely unpredictable. I'm enjoying it even more the second time. Mr. Butman went mining for magic and he struck the mother lode.