All Her Father's Guns [Paperback]

James Warner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2011

Cal Lyte, a gun-loving venture capitalist, is tired of paying alimony to his ex-wife Tabytha. Plotting to blackmail her and derail her campaign for Congress, he enlists the help of their daughter's boyfriend, British academic Reid Seyton, to unearth some Lyte family secrets. But the results turn out to be more than anyone bargained for, in an escalating cycle of revelations that will leave nobody's life the same.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Witty, stylish, and smart. Entertaining as hell." --Mark Sarvas, author of Harry, Revised

"All her Father's Guns had me laughing out loud. It's a wonder that a wit so dry can keep topping its own hilarious invention, page after page. And yet, for all the satirical surrealism of this Englishman's portrait of America, Warner's characters draw you in: they start to breathe, they make you care, and you end up feeling strangely moved. This is truly a distinctive achievement." --Tamim Ansary, author of West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story and The Widow's Husband

"James Warner has revived the fine art of the farce, of using the absurd to reveal deep, disturbing truths. In this novel he takes us on a wild romp through Silicon Valley, Bezerkeley, Arizona, and Mexico, with pit stops in academia, politics, religion, love, and survivalism. The perfect blend of intelligence and humor makes All Her Father's Guns a blast to read." --Frances Lefkowitz, author of To Have Not

About the Author

James Warner comes from England and lives in San Francisco. His short fiction has appeared in many literary magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Vox Novus (January 7, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0984260021
• ISBN-13: 978-0984260027
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,612,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Warner comes from England and lives in San Francisco. His short fiction has appeared in many literary magazines. Readers can visit his website: www.jameswarner.net.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Do Americans talk so loudly because they're afraid God can't hear them?' September 21, 2011

By Grady Harp HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

James Warner doesn't miss a beat - or any opportunity to both slyly and confrontationally present the foibles of American dynamics. Even his choice of names for his characters carry enough suggestive weight to define them even before we know who they are. The apparent 'in' for this young writer is the fact that he is British born and living in the US who has taken advantage of his bifurcated allegiance to unveil some absurdities we may not have noticed before. He makes his opening character (Reid Seyton - no, not pronounced 'Satan') an academician in Theory who is living in Berkeley (of course) with his girlfriend Lyllyan (?named after EU-Steamwheedle Cartel?) whose father Cal Lyte (that one is pretty straightforward) heads the Vigilance Ventures and is a gun lover venture capitalist seeking a way to diminish his alimony payments to his career politician, right winger ex-wife Tabytha 'gazelle' and the moniker becomes quite apparent as the story unfolds), and Viorela , Cal's Romanian cigarette-addicted therapist. But enough about this single aspect of Warner's genius.

This story is an unmitigated farce, the kind that only the most intensely clever writers can create. Warner takes his exquisitely drawn parodies of stereotypes and tosses together a salad of an adventure that tinkers with philosophy, academia, gun control, the machinations of politics, irreverent pairings of disparate characters, right to life issues, abortion, and criminal investigation techniques, the extremes of political right wing AND left wing factions, and in the end provides a mirror for us all to do some serious self-examination - in addition to laughing so hard that reading a page becomes almost unfeasible.... The real factor of success of this book is that it can be so rich in face and parody and still support a story line that is strong enough to hold our attention without the embroidery of the writer' comedic talents. James Warner is a bright new voice in contemporary literature, so refreshing that the reader will likely be passing this novel along to friends to spread the wealth! Grady Harp, September 11 Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Took me by surprise May 21, 2011

By Caitlin Myer

Format:Paperback

I was familiar with James Warner's work before picking up this novel, so I was prepared for his wit and incisive satire. But I was not prepared for the emotional gut-punch. I was not prepared to empathize with a gun-loving right-winger, but I came to love Cal Lyte like I love my shadow self.

Warner makes satire work in a new way for me, with characters that are full, human and tender.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Astute + Engaging = Hard to Put Down May 8, 2011

By Wagamama

Format:Paperback

I highly recommend this book, and think it needs to be made into a movie starring Alec Baldwin and James Marsden. I purchased "All Her Father's Guns" at a reading party featuring the author. Then I put it in my car and drove home. One day, weeks later, I cleaned out my car and brought the book into the house. Every so often, I would contemplate its presence on my console table, yet I didn't pick it up. It didn't look like my usual literary fare. A few weeks later, when cleaning my house, I put "All Her Father's Guns" on my bookshelf, an act of admission that I really wasn't going to read it for a while. Each time, I looked at the cover quizzically, wondering what in the world this book was about. Finally, one day, in extreme boredom, when nothing was on t.v., I went to my bookshelf to find something to occupy myself with. I picked up "All Her Father's Guns" and sat in a comfy chair, slightly hopeful it would alleviate my ennui.

Surprisingly, once I started this book, which I had put by the wayside of my book collection, I could not put it down. I was drawn in by Warner's portrayal of liberal English ex-pat, Seaton, who at once observes American culture from a bemused distance and is himself a stereotypical Berkeleyite pacifist professional student. Seaton's girlfriend is the "her" referenced in the title, a confused, slightly rebellious, very independent woman caught between warring parents who just won't let go of their divorce. Their marriage over a long time ago, they are ideologically at oddds in a political landscape one can only describe as absurd. Warner's gift of imagination and his breadth of knowledge and understanding of the human experience allows him to create fully rounded out characters with realistic motives and distinct voices.... Warner captured perfectly the completely different points of view of an Eastern European Lacan therapist; a Palin-esque Republican political hopeful; a gun-loving venture capitalist and his buddies who reside in an out-of the way private community of like-minded maximum freedom, minimum government libertarians; and a slate of other characters.

Written before the advent of Palin politics, Warner's writing is prescient and his characters' political ideologies are handled with a precision that perhaps an American author could not have accomplished. Warner's takes on libertarianism, Republicans, liberals, radicals, vegans, the abortion debate and its impact on real life crises; loss, grief, the politics of the university system, American foreign policy, the military industrial complex, patriotism, and government are hilariously accurate yet tender. Warner somehow manages to write a send-up of American culture and politics, to create a farcical world in which our very real neuroses are exaggerated, yet does this with understanding and affection.

I laughed throughout this book and connected with the two main characters. It is difficult sometimes to read a book written in two voices, but each character narrates his viewpoint distinctly enough in "All Her Father's Guns" that it wasn't confusing at all. I found the dual narration helpful in developing an understanding of both of these very different men. Sometimes it amazed me that both of these characters sprung from the imagination of one man. I enjoyed this book so much that I deliberately slowed down as I reached the last pages, not wanting the experience to end. As with some of the best novels, the characters stayed with me long after I reached the last page. I highly recommend this book. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! February 2, 2011

By Dorinda

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I absolutely love this book! James Warner is hilarious and witty. His social and political commentary is completely on point. I highly recommend reading this novel!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It May 3, 2011

By Sue

Format:Paperback

All Her Father's Guns has the exact qualities I look for in a novel: style and a very big heart. Warner weaves in astute and hilarious commentary on our political and consumer cultures, but the center of his story is the very real yearnings of his characters. So engaging that I overcame jet lag and exhaustion to finish All Her Father's Guns in just one day.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars All Her Father's Guns by James Warner April 21, 2011

By Katie

Format:Paperback

5 stars for All Her Father's Guns! Instead of guns, James Warner uses wit as his weapon of choice. This book is entertaining and unique - a must read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A portrait of human behavior in all its inconsistencies and subtleties April 20, 2011

By Sunni

Format:Paperback

I opened the pages expecting the wry, articulate humor that I have come to expect of this author. At first I was surprised by the characters. The subtle twists of plot and the impact of these twists on the characters told a seamless story. I was suspended between the depths of the internal longing that motivated the characters in their actions and the environmental events that triggered their behavior. The book tells an story that moves through time with nothing held stagnant. One of the best I have read in long time.