Review
Annunciations is a vibrant, unruly stew of a book. Part slacker comedy and part Cain-and-Abel tragedy, it simmers, and ultimately boils over, with the long list of appropriations--cultural, familial, marital, extra-marital--the narrator makes in order to construct a self he can live with. Hank Meyerson is simultaneously insightful and clueless, lovable and despicable, righteous, unrighteous and self-righteous, in the myriad ways only the best drawn characters in fiction are. --Tony Earley, author of
The Blue Star,
Jim the Boy, and
Somehow Form a Family and final judge for The Parthenon Prize for Fiction 2007
''That's where the delight in Muskin's writing lies, in the lightning-quick shift from micro to macro and back again....You'll see yourself, and your loved ones, in his near pitch-perfect characters.''-Emily Carter,
Minneapolis Star-Tribune ''Excellent.... A tender/delightful funny/startling debut.... Put Annunciations at the top of your winter list. You won't be sorry.'' --Mary Ann Grossmann, St. Paul Pioneer Press
By the end of the novel, though, author Scott Muskin puts us thoroughly on Hank's side, and not just because of the drastic changes that render him pitiful. Hank earns compassion by being utterly, recognizably human....Scott Muskin is a very smart writer; each page is packed with literary, cultural, and historical references. Cliches are stood on their heads, metaphors barely kept from bleeding into each other. While his approach isn't inviting, it is truly compelling; Muskin's skillful narrative gradually unfolds into touching, surprising observations on how we relate to each other and to the cruelty and beauty of our world. --ForeWord Magazine
Review
The Annunciations of Hank Meyerson, Mama's Boy and Scholar is a vbrant, unruly stew of a book. Part slacker comedy and part Cain-and-Abel tragedy, it simmers, and ultimately boils over, with the long list of appropriations--cultural, familial, marital, extra-marital--the title character makes in order to construct a self he can live with. Hank Meyerson is simultaneously insightful and clueless, lovable and despicable, righteous, unrighteous, and self-righteous in the myriad ways only the best drawn characters in fiction are.
