A Clod of Wayward Marl [Hardcover]

Rick DeMarinis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Critically acclaimed but underread Rick DeMarinis (Borrowed Hearts) turns his inimitable style to detective fiction in A Clod of Wayward Marl. Assistant English professor Guido Tarkenen, beleaguered by drink, his prostate and his "electric knee-jerk" temper, vows daily to mend his ways, but meanwhile stumbles on a multinational corporate plot involving virtual reality technology. Ribald and bighearted, our amped-up picaro might halt the pileup of bodies if he can stay sober long enough.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Hard-drinking, unlettered Guido Tarkenen writes "trash for cash." So, as a visiting writer in the English department at La Siberia Tech, the modestly successful creator of novels that "rut and cut, toot and shoot" is out of step with academic PC, colleagues who worship Smollett, and students who mouth postmodern gibberish. Guido's element is losing a barroom fight that begins in a disagreement over the relative merits of dental floss and water Piks. Of course, the English department is in emotional meltdown over rumors that the university is being sold to an Asian high-tech firm that will jettison the liberal arts. But as even the wildest rumors seem to be coming true, faculty members start to die, and Guido is drawn into comic-book academic surreality. This is a big, messy, often hilariously funny novel that skewers every subject it touches; it is a plausible speculation, incidentally, that Guido is modeled on James Crumley, the much-respected crime novelist who is known for his bull-in-a-china-shop act as a visiting writer. DeMarinis has been writing funny, angry, and over-the-top literary novels and short stories for 25 years, to critical acclaim but limited reader recognition. Here's hoping his first "detective" novel will turn him into an "overnight" sensation. Thomas Gaughan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Dennis McMillan Publications (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939767376
• ISBN-13: 978-0939767373
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,869,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a hilarious work from a major but neglected American writer, April 28, 2001

By 

robert phillips (L.A., CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Clod of Wayward Marl (Hardcover)

Fans of De Marinis's earlier works will recognize bits and pieces of Guido Tarkenen, the central character of "A Clod of Wayward Marl"--Italian on his mother's side, Finnish on his father's, with a fondness for drink and a tendency toward bad trouble with women, he could be a grow-up cousin to Trygve Napoli, the protagonist of "The Year of the Zinc Penny," or to the adult heroes of any number of his short stories (see his superb collection "Borrowed Hearts"). Guido's a writer of "slasher trash" novels, temporarily teaching writing at La Siberia U., located in a border town bearing a close resemblance to El Paso. There's plenty of plot here, but the real pleasure of the book is De Marinis's gleeful genre-bending in his creation of Guido's demented little world--it's a little bit hardboiled P.I., a little technothriller, some academic comedy, with a little SF thrown in just for fun. (The book contains the best description of a virtual reality trip I've read anywhere, and it's funny to boot.) If there were any justice De Marinis would be one of the best-known writers in America, and if enough people sit up and notice this one, maybe he will be.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DeMarinis is fall-off-your-chair FUNNY, November 27, 2001

By 

john corrigan (Presque Isle, Maine USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Clod of Wayward Marl (Hardcover)

Rick DeMarinis, in CLOD, shows once again that he is one of our most underappreciated authors. His characters are well constructed, the dialogue snaps, but more than anything his control of the narrator and, in turn, the language makes the book a great read. In places, his subtleness allows the humor of Guido's failings to resonate; while in others--lines like "poor writing, horniness, and alcohol: a bad mix"--allow reader's to see poor Guido shrugging to himself as he struggles onward.

If you want to laugh--or to learn from a master--BUY THIS BOOK!