Coasters [Hardcover]

Gerald Duff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2001

Waylon McPhee, middle-aged and divorced, moves back in with his widowed father in hopes of coasting through another year. But his father is dating again, and his sisters are trying to manipulate Waylon into asking their father for their inheritance before he gives it to a second wife. Adding to the pandemonium are an affair with an obsessive married woman, some old high school acquaintances, and Waylon's renewed interest in the Prom Queen from his old high school, the same school where he has taken a job as a substitute teacher. The sarcastic Waylon, juggling his relationships and responsibilities caustically but light-heartedly, hangs on hoping to recover something he lost in his youth: enough momentum to reach escape velocity. By turns humorous and melancholy, this novel cruises to a conclusion where all its characters satisfyingly reap what they have sown. Gerald Duff is a splendid writer of sparkling dialogue, and has perfect pitch for the ennui of contemporary life in the suburbs of the petroleum-chemical corridor that stretches along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Mississippi.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A 48-year-old slacker moves back in with his widowed father in Port Arthur, Tex., in the latest offering from native Texan Duff (Memphis Ribs). Recently laid off by British Petroleum, Waylon McPhee returns to his Gulf Coast hometown with vague notions of achieving the "escape velocity" necessary to move forward in life. He falls easily into a familiar pattern of interaction with querulous family members and wacky locals who have remained in the same place their entire lives. Taking a job as a substitute teacher in his former high school, Waylon discovers that the director of the school play is none other than Diane Dailey, one of Port Arthur's famous: she once had a small role on television's Dallas. Much to his chagrin, Waylon finds that middle age has done little to temper his awkwardness with women. While conducting a lukewarm affair with another woman and tentatively forging a friendship with Diane, Waylon must also contend with his sisters' meddling in their widower father's newfound relationship with Hazel Boles, a British divorc‚e, and the unexpected arrival of his gay son, Brian, who is creating a lip-synching act to honor Janis Joplin (Port Arthur's best-known progeny). Deft, often droll comedy is at the fore in Duff's story of people who may not have a lot going on, but who sure do keep trying to figure it out, in their own time. Hilarious scenes of family outings and school play rehearsals round out the realistic depiction of life in the oft-neglected other New South. Waylon may not exactly achieve any major epiphanies, but what he does learn is demonstrated with a wit and subtlety as simply satisfying as a tall cold one on a hot Gulf Coast afternoon.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

". . . a deftly written novel that alternates between dark comedy and surreal tragedy . . . Coasters is original, compelling and highly recommended." -- Wisconsin Bookwatch

Â". . . a wild carnival ride to the rocky bottom of the New Economy . . . washed in a shade of deep poignancy.Â" -- Madison Smartt Bell

Â"A native Texan, Duff has gone back to his roots for this novel, and the oil patch is a funny place indeed.Â" -- Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Â"It is full of the assurance of an accomplished novelist. . . Coasters is a joyride of a novel, and in the best of ways, very much a book about the New South . . .Â" -- Anniston Star

Â"Like its title, Coasters soars and plummets . . . [and] roars to a fine finish.Â" -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: New South Inc; First Edition edition (May 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588380297
• ISBN-13: 978-1588380296
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,700,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exhilarating Ride, August 6, 2001

By 

Melvin L. Belton (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coasters (Hardcover)

Duff has wrapped this story of middle-aged torpor in ribald humor and hilarious word play. The plot takes the reader on a rapid ascent through the savage scenery of corporate downsizing, marital failures, family discord, and unrealized dreams. Waylon McPhee, the central character, returns - unemployed, divorced and without future plans -- to live cheaply in his father's house. In his desire to coast through life, he reenters his past. It is both familiar and recognizably changed. The differences provide just enough impetus to keep Waylon on the ascent. His coasting is not a slowing down. The raucously drawn characters of Port Arthur would never allow such behavior. A swift kick in the pants to any such nonsense! Duff takes hold of the people, places and language of the Golden Triangle and arranges them on the page like so much fried food at the Holiday Inn breakfast buffet. It may not be healthy, but it sure does stick to the bones. The oil refineries and chemical plants along the Texas gulf coast shine an eerie light that magically reflects the humanity of Duff's characters. These people are often flawed, funny and lewd ... but they are never unbelievable. Respect is a major theme running through the novel: threads of feminism, ageism, and sexism are evident. Such weighty issues are handled deftly, leaving the people of Port Arthur the arduous task of working through their differences -- often in the privacy of their bedrooms (owned, borrowed or rented by the hour). Coasters is a rollicking read. Anticipation builds until we find ourselves on the final page. At the end, floating in the still point where adrenaline pumps and the mind opens to new possibilities, Waylon sets free the ghosts from his past.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Check It Out, August 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Coasters (Hardcover)

Did you read that piece in the latest Atlantic Monthly about overrated, ill-written books by current literary darlings? This book is a good antidote to that kind of stuff. Duff's characters talk like natural people, only funnier. And he doesn't lay a lot of woolly lyricism on you--he shows people getting up to things. These are real literary values.

4.0 out of 5 stars Clovis Bear, May 13, 2002

By 

English major (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coasters (Hardcover)

Although this book is about a 48-year old divorced man, which is not the kind of subject matter I normally look for in my reading material, I decided to give this one a shot anyway, and I am so glad I did! This book is entertaining: it's hard to put down and there were several laugh-out-loud moments to be found. I really enjoyed this book, although I must say that the ending was rather anticlimactic, overall I would definitely recommend it. Enjoy!