The Junk-Drawer Corner-Store Front-Porch Blues (Signet) [Paperback]

John R. Powers (Author)

Book Description

Series: Signet | Publication Date: June 1, 1993

Returning to his childhood home on Chicago's South Side, Hollywood comedy writer Donald Cooper roams the streets searching for the key to his identity. Reprint. AB.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this quip-packed novel, a divorced father and gag writer in L.A. reassesses his life and finally comes of age.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Do not be misled by the awkwardly hyphenated title. Powers, author of The Last Catholic in America ( LJ 2/15/73) and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? ( LJ 12/1/75), offers a well-crafted tale of humor and redemption. The story follows comedy writer Donald Cooper as he returns to his family home and confronts the grief he has carried for 20 years. Cooper's memories of growing up in a Chicago neighborhood, Saturday baseball, evenings on the porch, and unfinished lives are counterpoised with the complexities of his present relationships. Told as a series of flashbacks interspersed with ironic commentary, the result is a funny and poignant tale of the human journey and family bonds. An excellent addition to all fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/91.
- Jan Blodgett, St. Mary's Cty. Records Ctr. & Archives, Leonardtown, Md.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451176022
• ISBN-13: 978-0451176028
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,454,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a real shame that this is out of print, October 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Junk-Drawer Corner-Store Front-Porch Blues (Hardcover)

I loved the other John R. Powers books and discovered this one, believe it or not, in an airport gift shop. As with his other books, it was a joy to read and had an emotional depth so rarely found in books that are also miraculously funny. Powers may well be the most underrated writer to emerge in the last 30 years. His books are so entertaining, you don't notice yourself being moved. Until later, that is. Like, ten seconds later. Wonderful writing I recommend to anyone with a heart and a funny bone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, January 27, 2000

By 

Brad Fritz (Wichita, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Junk-Drawer Corner-Store Front-Porch Blues (Hardcover)

I think this book is an excellent book and I just love everything that John R. Powers writes. He has a way of being funny and poignant at the same time. He writes about growing up in Chicago as if you are actually doing it yourself. His way of writing draws you in because it is very funny and touching and really makes you think about life. The fact of the matter is that I loaned this book to a friend and now I can't find it in print again. It is truly a good book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant memoir turns unexpectedly meaningful, March 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Junk-Drawer Corner-Store Front-Porch Blues (Hardcover)

One of the marks of truly fine writing, as it is with any work of art from film ("Glory" comes to mind) to music (Beethoven and Beatles), is a physical response from the reader/viewer. "Junk Drawer" illicited that from me. It starts as an amiable memoir, at best. The dialogue between Donald and his nurse, his mother and his girlfriend in the early chapters sound more like a trite sitcom than literature. But the story turns unexpectedly meaningful and touching. The passages in which Donald matter-of-factly evaluates what the rest of his life will be like after a major event disrupts his family are so perfectly understated, so full of insight and devoid of maudlin pathos, reading them actually made me feel flushed and dizzy. It's THAT devastating. But, of course, this is John R. Powers and the sense of hopefulness at book's end is welcome and not out of place. "Junk Drawer" isn't Powers' best work (THAT title goes to "Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice Cream God") and certainly not his funniest. But those moments of dramatic realization are perhaps the purest and most affecting things he's ever put on paper.