- Category: Books » Fiction & Literature » Fantasy - Contemporary
- Format: Paperback Learn more about the Paperback format using Tower WIKI.
- Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
- Number of Pages: 208
- ISBN: 1582435383
- WAPI (Tower ID): 113552684
- Release Date: December 1, 2009
- Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
- Tower.com Sales Rank: #598215 in Books (See Top 100 Books Bestsellers)
- #63318 in Fiction & Literature (See Top 100 Fiction & Literature Bestsellers)
- #1376 in Fantasy - Contemporary (See Top 100 Fantasy - Contemporary Bestsellers)
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Product DescriptionRun a Quick Search on "Perfect Agreement" by Michael Downing to Browse Related Products:Browse more products related to "Perfect Agreement"Browse more products related to "Michael Downing"Review"...Michael Downing has filled his novel with so much intelligence and beauty that it can modify your life, like a loved one. And in the realm of art, it doesn't get any more perfect than that." "The comedy is fun, but it doesn't' last long. The spelling rules are useful, but this is, after all, a novel, not a textbook. Mark's domestic arrangements are downright humdrum. But the Shaker material is first-rate. And the title is just right. The book is about perfect agreements--or at least the desire for them--in grammar, in domestic life, in work, in education and in utopian theology..." "Lessons in grammar, Shaker history and life are offered in Michael Downing's cleverly constructed and thoroughly engaging third novel. Written from the point of view of a sarcastic English professor, 'Perfect Agreement' moves seamlessly from present-day Boston to a turn-of-the-century Kentucky Shaker town." Publisher's noteMark Sternum, a professor who teaches spelling and grammar at Boston's McClintock College, is full of droll observations about the rules that govern our language, but he leads a diligent if somewhat detached life. Friends and family try to coax him into deeper involvement, yet he keeps even his lover at arm's length. He screens all incoming calls, including his eccentric sister's "word pictures" about the waning days of their comatose mother. One day, an African-American single mother who has failed the college's basic skills test for the last time accuses Mark of "prejudgism," and Mark is fired. Blown off course, he monitors the ensuing academic skirmish from a distance as his case makes national headlines, and turns his attention instead to the graceful rhythms of a small Shaker community. As the scrambled pieces of Mark's life and the simple ways of the Shakers begin to merge, Mark finds new beauty in his own maddening, blissful dependency on the people in his life. Funny and generous, Downing's seemingly effortless prose juxtaposes cunning portraits of academic functionaries weathering the age of political correctness with the people and values of the last Shaker families in America. AnnotationMark Sternum, at 36, faces several crises: he is fired from his job, his long-lost father shows up on his doorstep, and he becomes obsessed with an elderly Shaker sister and her visionary gifts. If You Enjoy "Perfect Agreement (Paperback)", May We Also Recommend:Customer Reviews for "Perfect Agreement (Paperback)" by Michael Downing (Author)There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review! Fantasy - Contemporary Bestsellers
Fiction & Literature Bestselling BooksExplore More Great Tower Sales & Specials
Books Bestsellers
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
