The Full Catastrophe [Paperback]

David Carkeet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1991

In the tradition of Stephen McCauley's The Onject of My Affection, here is the critically acclaimed fourth novel from the author of Double Negative. The Los Angeles Times praised The Full Catastrophe as "eccentric, hilarious, wildly inventive and eerily accurate . . . (a) terrific book." Advertising in New York Times Book Review.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Flaky, amiable Jeremy Cook, the linguist Carkeet introduced in Double Negative , leaves the ivied halls of academe for the closer confines of a suburban home in this wrenching yet often exhilarating examination of a troubled modern marriage. When the Wabash Institute in Indiana folds for lack of funding, Jeremy slips into a job in Saint Louis, Mo., with the Pillow Agency, a zany marriage-counseling service. His assignment is to move in with Beth and Dan Wilson and, by observing their interactions, help them decide if their marriage can be saved. Jeremy insinuates himself into the Wilsons' daily activities. His relationship with the couple and their game 10-year-old Robbie is at once intimate and distant, definitely a seat-of-the-pants proposition, but his training as a linguist serves him, and probably the Wilsons, well. Carkeet's premise is fresh, his characters utterly winning and his comic observations full of affection for those caught up in the complex confusions of love. Laugh-out-loud scenes and swift, convincing dialogue mark this lunatic look at serious issues; the conclusion may be irresolute, but all the more believable for that. Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Unemployed linguist Jeremy Cook heads west to St. Louis for a well-paid job with the philanthropic Pillow Agency as a live-in observer of a troubled marriage. Dan and Beth Wilson, and their ten-year-old son Robbie, are middle-class middle Americans on the edge of destruction. Lack of communication, good intentions gone wrong, and bullheadedness are among the commonplace but damning marital difficulties Jeremy faces. A bachelor and an academic, Jeremy would appear eminently unsuited to the task of helping to save the marriage. In the end, Jeremy and the novel itself prove full of small surprises. The author's second novel featuring Jeremy Cook (the first was Double Negative), this is wickedly funny, deeply compassionate, and highly readable. An excellent choice for most academic and public libraries. Literary Guild alternate.
-James B. Hemesath, Adams State Coll. Lib., Alamosa, Col.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671732455
• ISBN-13: 978-0671732455
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,311,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Carkeet was born and raised in the Gold Rush town of Sonora, California. He went to college at U.C. Davis and Berkeley, then to graduate school at U. of Wisconsin and Indiana U.--thus the southern Indiana setting for "Double Negative," his first novel. He lived in St. Louis for 30 years, where he set "The Full Catastrophe" and "The Error of Our Ways." He now lives near Montpelier, Vermont, and you can probably guess where he set his newest novel, "From Away." He is married with three grown daughters. More info at davidcarkeet.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughs on every page!, May 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Full Catastrophe (Paperback)

Linguist-in-residence Jeremy Cook returns for an unlikely debut as live-in counselor to a couple trying to fix their sputtering marriage. There are laughs on every page in this entertaining dissection of holy matrimony. Jeremy moves in with the prosperous Wilsons and tries his best to get beneath their language, to analyze the "horror at the core" of their relationship

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understated comic genius, June 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Full Catastrophe (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The Full Catastrophe is as compelling and potent as a mystery, despite the fact that the "detective" in this case is linguist Jeremy Cook, and he bumbles through several well-meaning attempts to discover what the "horror" in the Wilson's marriage is. Carkeet's wit is intoxicating, yet he manages to take a back seat to the characters and let the day-in-the-life story unfold with perfect pacing. I can't ignore the probable similarities between Jeremy Cook and Carkeet, but one thing marks a clear distinction: Jeremy knows nothing about marriage until Carkeet unveils it to him.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilariously inventive!, March 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Full Catastrophe (Paperback)

A live-in linguist tries to save a marriage - a comic gem. Highly recommended