Art in America: A Novel [Hardcover]

Ron McLarty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2008

A funny and heartwarming novel about a down-on-his-luck writer who finally finds success and love

Steven Kearney is a bumbling, overweight writer who has produced thousands of pages of novels, plays, and poems—not a single one of which has ever been published. After being thrown out of his Manhattan apartment, Kearney is offered a position as playwright-in-residence for three months at the Creedemore Historical Society in Colorado, who want him to write and direct a historical play about the town. When Kearney arrives, all hell breaks loose. A dispute between an elderly landowner, Ticky Lettgo, and a young man named Red Fields escalates into a battle that pits local ranchers against a fringe anti-property group. Town sheriff Petey Meyers, still haunted by the death of his police partner, tries to keep the peace. As the national media descends on the town, the most extreme member of the activist group initiates a diabolical plan that could sabotage everything.

Amid all the tumult, Kearney pens a play that brilliantly captures the history of the town. In the process, he realizes he’s too old to keep beating up on himself and finds lasting love. With its lively characters and spellbinding pace, Ron McLarty’s new novel is sure to please.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ambitious and consistently charming, this overstuffed third novel by the author of The Memory of Running is brimming with gems of richly observed smalltown life. In Creedemore, Colo., a land-rights dispute pitches locals against one another and attracts national media attention. Into the fray arrives Steven Kearney, a prolific New York author of unpublished novels, poems and plays, who has been invited by the Creedemore Historical Society to write and direct a play dramatizing the town's history. Steven's relocation sparks a colorful fish-out-of-water story populated with cowboys, environmental activists, hordes of reporters, performance artists, ecoterrorists and bona fide outlaws. Keeping the peace is sheriff Petey Myers, whose recollections of (and occasional conversations with) his slain partner provide some of the novel's finest moments. Sparkling, at times hilarious dialogue keeps many—perhaps too many—subplots moving. The depth of characters like Steven and Petey is contrasted by some of the minor characters, who can come off as stereotypes. Still, readers will root for the residents of Creedemore as they alternately divide over a trial and come together to stage the new play. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This is the third novel (following The Memory of Running, 2005, and Traveler, 2006) by veteran character actor McLarty, and the third time’s the charm. Unpublished author Steven Kearney loses his apartment and his girlfriend all in one dreadful week. So when he is offered a paying position to write a historical play for the town of Creedmore, Colo., it seems as though his luck is about to change. But he arrives just as a bitter land dispute breaks out, pitting old-time rancher Ticky Lettgo against newcomer Red Fields. Kearney, urged on by the leader of the local historical society, who believes that art will heal the town, wrestles mightily with his own insecurities about his talent to produce his masterwork. McLarty works the whole spectrum here, from the hilarious banter of old cowpokes to the halting romance between the playwright and a mural artist to the incredibly moving moments when the town sheriff, still grieving the death of his old partner, invokes the late cop’s street wisdom. A bighearted, wildly entertaining novel from a writer who just gets better with every outing. --Joanne Wilkinson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (July 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670018953
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018956
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Its easy for readers to get caught up in Art In America, September 11, 2008

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art in America: A Novel (Hardcover)

Steven Kearney is a plump, forty-something part-time playwright who, despite having written pages and pages of material, has yet to have anything produced or published. After his girlfriend dumps him for another man, and taking construction jobs to make ends meet, he moves in with his best friend, Roarke, a lesbian theater director desperate for inspiration just like he is. Seemingly out of nowhere comes an offer to be the playwright-in-residence in the small town of Creedemore, Colorado. With this honor comes the responsibility of writing a play to memorialize the town and its history. Kearney quickly accepts the position, thinking that this could be the job that gets those creative juices flowing. Colorado, here he comes!

Kearney lands in Creedemore, right in the center of a bitter land dispute that has locals pitted against one another. In an effort to take advantage of the breathtaking natural bounty around him, Mountain Man Red Fields has cleverly started his own whitewater rafting business. But old Ticky Lettgo has taken issue with the rafts floating through his land, although Mountain Man contends that no one owns the water. Ticky decides to make his point the best way he knows how --- with his shotgun --- and gets a little too close for the tourists' comfort, not to mention safety.

Amiable Sheriff Petey Meyers, a transplant from the Boston Police Department, is brought in to handle matters. Meyers is trying to adapt to life in Colorado but just can't seem to put his Beantown days behind him. His constant referrals (and sometimes flat-out conversations) to his slain partner lay bare just how his heart is not really in this job. He arrests Ticky, which kicks off a firestorm of media with everyone taking a very vocal side. Soon it doesn't seem to be about a dispute over land, but more a clash of the old chaffing against the new. After his arrest and his subsequent trial, Tick's ninety-something wife, Minnie, stops speaking and takes to her bed, with only the medal of her deceased Marine son to comfort her.

Meanwhile, Kearney is struggling to get a handle on the job at hand. How can you commemorate a town when it's not your own? Luckily, he meets muralist Mollie Dowse, who has been commissioned to paint a mural for the town celebration. Mollie, with her quick wit and survivor instinct (she's bravely going through a strong course of chemotherapy after suffering from breast cancer), quickly becomes Kearney's muse, and the two set out to inspire each other.

Ron McLarty has been known as a very prolific character actor for years. He first came to people's attention as a gifted novelist with his debut, THE MEMORY OF RUNNING. In this, his third outing, McLarty has all the requisite charm and colorful characters, but at times, the sheer number of individuals and situations seems to take away from the main narrative. Although it lacks the clear vision of his two earlier novels, ART IN AMERICA does display McLarty's talent as an author, which manages to shine clearly through the haze, as readers get caught up in the story unfolding before them.

--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art In America: A Novel is a joyful, wild, and extremely funny, September 9, 2008

By 

Alistair Hunter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Art in America: A Novel (Hardcover)

I stumbled upon this novel first by being attracted by the title, then by being attracted by an author who was a veteran character actor with a background in theatre, and finally by thumbing through the beginning and seeing the hilarious list of the selected unpublished and unproduced (and overwritten) novels, poems, and plays of the novel's writer hero Steven Kearney. I simply could not put this hilarious book with all the zany characters and plots down. It is fun to laugh out loud. The novel itself could have been an early Sam Shepard play done Off Off Broadway in a basement of church on skid row with an audience of nine including friends and relatives. As crazy as each of the characters are sketched, and as looney as each of the plot twists are, I came to love each and everyone of them. There is a remarkable sense of poignancy here too. And it has moments where it is downright touching. If you an theatre artist in America and have a case of the blues, this just may pull you out of it. If anyone has access to Ron McLarty, tell him we want a sequel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent and Touching Book!, September 11, 2009

By 

A. Cooley "misscooley" (Bainbridge Island, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Art in America: A Novel (Hardcover)

Luckily for me and unlike the other reviewers I have not read anything else by Ron McLarty. Obviously, this puts me in the unique position of not having to compare, Art in America, with his other books. From this standpoint I have to say that this is one of the most enjoyable and heartfelt books I have read recently.

The premise for the story is interesting, entertaining, meaningful, and personally inspiring. I appreciate deeply the main character's (Steven Kearney) unfailing drive to follow, against all odds, what he believes to be his calling in life. The saying, "follow your passion and the money will come," seems like a great concept but the execution is often messy and painful. Steven Kearney exemplifies perseverance and he is a kind soul even though his life has been pretty discouraging.

The other main theme in the book, the idea that art can bring people together and help them understand each other, was another reason I loved reading this book. How nice to read about proactive and creative problem-solving.

And, this book is funny, eccentric and has characters that you are proud get to know. I laughed out loud many times.

My greatest piece of evidence for recommending this book comes from the fact that my boyfriend, a very, very picky reader is reading this book and loves it. In fact, I came to Amazon today to buy a copy of it for his Mom for her birthday.

I am disappointed that the reviews for this uplifting book were so tepid. Thankfully, I can look forward to reading Ron McLarty's other books and I can only imagine how great they are going to be!