Floodmarkers [Paperback]

Nic Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 2009

Lystra, North Carolina. A fictional town full of very real people who survive the attack of Hurricane Hugo and then find their bearings in the aftermath—often in wild and hilarious ways.

The days leading up to the impending disaster are not at all unusual—no portents of disaster, no signs of impending calamity. Bryce works his night shift at the hot dog factory, Isaac drives the bus to school, Evelyn attends a funeral. But when the electricity fails in the middle of the night on September 21, 1989, it marks the moment when everything will change: Hugo has arrived.

The storm builds, the wind whips by faster and faster, and interpersonal dramas, grudges, and rivalries are dredged up along with the flotsam and debris. Meanwhile, flood markers, painted red, track the height of the water from past rainstorms, and as the creek level rises higher than ever before, so do the emotions of the townspeople.

Alternating between weather forecasts and short stories, Floodmarkers is an exquisitely crafted day-in-the-life of a town. And as Nic Brown has us look bravely at the eye of the storm, he cleverly shows us that human nature can stir up a spectacular tempest all its own.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Brown's hip, assured debut, a series of vignettes adds up to a keen portrait of a small North Carolina town. It's September 21, 1989, in Lystra, N.C., and Hurricane Hugo is bearing down on residents and visitors alike, including shy Tennessean Cliff, in town for the wedding of his cousin, with whom he had a tender, confusing adolescent affair; high school girls Grier and Fletcher, best friends and rivals for the affection of Fletcher's brother, the be-mohawked Mike; Evelyn Graham, for whom œfunerals were social events whose invitations were printed in The News & Observer obituaries; and Pat Doublehead, a Cherokee veterinarian with an eye for little boys. Brown, a former journeyman musician, slides easily between his characters, rendering them in believable relief, from Cliff's romanticism to Fletcher's calm competence in an emergency. Though none of the players gets much time on stage—the novel is short and the character list long—Brown makes the most of them, revealing their secrets and tragedies with careful, confident economy. Think Winesburg, Ohio simultaneously pared down and amped up, read to the sound of a jangly Strat. (July)
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Review

“What Brown does so expertly is to summon the brief, intimate moments—the single word shared between two characters, the simple gesture that quietly reveals hope.” —The New York Times

"Like Sherwood Anderson, Brown is essentially a still-life artist; he eschews plot for portraiture, the linear for the lateral." —BookForum

“Floodmarkers is . . . about the life of our times, stories starring lovable slackers and beautiful failures from a generation we haven’t even bothered to name yet. And there are dogs in it—lots of them, both dead and alive—which helped clinch its spot on my List of Favorite Books, right after The Moviegoer and just before Cathedral. Smart and funny and sexy, Floodmarkers is more than just art: it’s art on a motorcycle.”
—Daniel Wallace, author of Big Fish


“Nic Brown is the most talented new writer I’ve come across. This first book of his is reminiscent of Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio in both its structure and its tragi-comedic view of a small town and the subsequent sufferings and joys of its inhabitants. Brown’s prose is beautiful and his empathy and insight into the human condition is breathtaking.”
—Jonathan Ames, author of Wake Up, Sir! and The Extra Man


“Floodmarkers is funny, warm, insightful, and very, very moving. Nic Brown has written a beautiful depiction of contemporary Southern life in a small town—a compassionate portrait of hopeful, striving people. (Not to mention the sex, drugs, and hurricane.)”
—Chris Offutt, author of No Heroes

“Nic Brown’s writing is so smooth it slips into your veins. Read the opening pages of Floodmarkers and you’re hooked on these interwoven stories that are as volatile, unpredictable and irresistible as the hurricane that holds them together. When the storm rips the lid off this humble town it exposes a motley ensemble of flawed, hopeful and quietly desperate young characters. There is more humanity overflowing on these pages than on most works of fiction twice its size.” —Jim Lynch, author of The Highest Tide


“Nic Brown is a wonderful new writer and Floodmarkers is a wonderful new book. Brown’s prose is full of snap, crackle and pop. His characters are so vivid they jump off the page, and the dialogue is some of the best I’ve read in years. He gives us an important vision of the contemporary South in a time of prosperity and woe, yet the stories are funny and full of life. Floodmarkers is simply delicious. Bon Appetit!” —Randall Kenan, author of Let the Dead Bury Their Dead

“Nic Brown writes with a clear eye and deep sympathies. The stories in this fine first collection show a writer already beginning to hit what promises to be a very big stride.” —Pam Durban, author of So Far Back

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint; Original edition (June 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582435065
• ISBN-13: 978-1582435060
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nic Brown's first book, Floodmarkers, was published in 2009 and was selected as an Editor's Choice by The New York Times Book Review. His novel Doubles was published in 2010. His short stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and have appeared in the Harvard Review, Glimmer Train, and Epoch, among many other publications. A graduate of Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he teaches at the University of Northern Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Miss this Debut Novel, November 8, 2009

By 

Rangeley Wallace (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Floodmarkers (Paperback)

When I picked up Floodmarkers I didn't have particularly high expectations. First book, interconnected stories. But within a few pages, I was hooked. Nic Brown plops his absolutely pitch perfect characters into incredible, revealing, often heart breaking situations. You'll want to throw a life preserver to these lost men and women -- not to save them from Hurricane Hugo, the devastating storm that connects the stories, but to save them from themselves and those they love.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars escape at it's best!, October 16, 2009

By 

Callie Warner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Floodmarkers (Kindle Edition)

I read Floodmarkers on a rainy day and couldn't put it down! It made me laugh at such things as his description of hot dogs. It made me feel like home at such descriptions as Meats and Treats, Tripp Ln, the Barn Dinner Theatre!! God, it was all familiar and all brilliantly written.
I loved the timeframe of the book and he really took me into the lives of the people. I was crying and laughing and loving the depth of compassion he revealed for each character.
I've never written a review before so I'm gonna stop now. But, I really hope everyone reads this book, especially on a rainy day! It'll take away the glooms and dooms and you'll be sad when the stories and lives of those folks are over. At least I was! Keep writing Nic Brown! And thanks.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than a hurricane ..., September 1, 2009

By 

Rebekah L. Cowell "rlcowell" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Floodmarkers (Paperback)

Of all the books that made their debut this summer, Floodmarkers, is the one that left a lasting impression, and a permanent spot on my bookshelf.

I devoured it quickly, handing it off to my favorite barista (at my favorite coffee shop) the next morning - READ this, I said. (she did, loved it, and passed along to another friend!)

Brown's voice, is refreshingly honest.
He's not trying to woo anyone with clever words, and metaphors and his ability to turn a pretty phrase (though he can do all of that)! He's the kind of author you forget exists because the character's voices are so strong.
Brown says it like it is - the bad, the ugly, the profane and oddly wonderful.
Twelve stories, linked by an hurricane - not just any hurricane, 1984's monster; Hurricane Hugo.
Don't assume that this is a book solely centered on a destructive/act of nature.
Sure, an auspice weatherman gives us a report in his chirpy(don't give a damn) sing-song voice between slices of human drama ... but that's the touchstone that propels the characters forward - you're dying to find out - will the hurricane destroy before the human's do?
Take the characters out of the eye of the hurricane, and place them in another inclement disaster zone - and you will have the same age old stories: love, death, fear, longing, passion and new beginnings.

Floodmarkers, is a fabulous read with incredible snapshots of what it means to be human.
Get a copy, read, pass along and wait (like me) for the Indy film!