The Metal Shredders [Paperback]

Nancy Zafris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2003

John Bonner is trying hard to cope with his new role as exploiter of a motley crew of low-paid workers at his prosperous family business. John Bonner & Son Metal Shredders is where cars go to die-mashed into scrap by a mouthful of high-speed 255-pound magnesium teeth. John works with his sister, and the two bond over their romantic histories-which resemble scrap heaps as well. Then, one fateful night, a hidden stash of drug money turns up in a Ford LTD trunk with an extremely unpleasant smell. Now John has to launder the cash-literally-and figure out what to do with it. And what to do about a lot of things. Because this is not where he wants to die...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zafris, the fiction editor of the Kenyon Review and the author of the short story collection The People I Know, dissects the decidedly strange subculture of scrap metal workers in her quirky debut novel, delving into the dissolution of an Ohio family's scrap metal operation when 30-ish John Bonner finally takes the reins from his domineering father. Bonner has the knowledge and savvy to handle the job, but he finds himself distracted by a difficult divorce and apprehensive about the prospect of managing his father's ragtag workers. He turns to his older sister, Octavia, for help, but she, too, is coming off a bad relationship and is equally dismayed at the prospect of following in their father's footsteps. A larger issue surfaces when one of the older workers finds $5,000 in the upholstery of a car used to ferry two murder victims, and John's "finder's keepers" decision regarding the money quickly produces problems when the cash disappears. John's search leads him to the worker's daughter, but her questionable decisions generate a series of fiascoes that brings the media in when the money finally reappears. Injury follows insult when another worker loses his life in a grisly accident, leading John to try to unload the business in a desperate effort to salvage his career. Zafris creates a demented and somewhat lovable cast of oddballs and misfits, although she gets a bit carried away with a libidinous saleswoman who has the hots for both John and Octavia. She does a better job of capturing the wacky world of the scrap metal industry. While the occasional lack of continuity between bizarre incidents reveals the typical struggles of a writer going from short stories to her first novel, the combination of Zafris's solid writing and unique subject matter bodes well for her future as a novelist.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Zafris, author of the award-winning The People I Know and fiction editor of the Kenyon Review, engagingly chronicles a year in the lives of siblings John and Octavia Bonner. The book opens with the funeral of their grandfather, the original owner of the family scrap metal business, introducing one of the predominant themes of the novel: the search for identity and its relation to family. While John and Octavia try to rebuild their personal lives (both have lost their respective significant others) and buff the family name, some factory workers find thousands of dollars in a car trunk. This nicely complicates the story line. Throughout, the dialog holds up well, with only the occasional stilted line, and the action moves steadily enough to keep the reader turning pages. Recommended for all libraries. Lyle D. Rosdahl, San Antonio P.L., TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Blue Hen Trade (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425190803
• ISBN-13: 978-0425190807
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,612,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars deep insightful look at a unique profession, September 14, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Metal Shredders (Hardcover)

John Bonner now runs the family business John Bonner & Son Metal Shredders. Though John knows the ins and outs of the metal shredding industry and is quite capable of managing the operation, his divorce has left him shaken and on edge. His only source for guidance is his sister Octavia, but she is recovering from a broken relationship too and thinks they should the firm.

When two workers find five thousand dollars stashed in one of the cars, John claims a finders keepers fee, but soon the money vanishes. Searching for the cash, John embroils himself and Octavia in a series of missteps and ultimately calamity as an employee dies. This returns John to square one wondering whether to sell the business, but has this additional albatross of the missing loot to deal with too.

THE METAL SHREDDERS is a different kind of tale that is at its strongest when dealing with the business and the industry that has made the headlines in light of the World Trade Center. John is the focus of the tale and he is fully developed so that the reader grasps his concerns and worries. The secondary cast, especially his sister and the blue-collar workers, propels the plot for forward while enhancing the understanding of John. When the story line twists into a sexually aggressive secondary character it loses some of the sting of a deep insightful look at a unique profession. Nancy Zafris has easily taken the leap from short story writer to novelist.

Harriet

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fast, LOL but deep work by Zafris, October 14, 2002

By 

Shaney Marhkam (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Metal Shredders (Hardcover)

Nancy Zafris' "The Metal Shredders" deconstructs the American family with the same thoroughness that a salvage-yard business picks apart an old LTD. These characters -- the Bonner family and the people who work for them -- are believable and sweet, and I cared deeply about them. Zafris, more than anyone else I've read, is good at showing the complexities of the male gender, its paranoias and fears and desires.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Treasure, August 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Metal Shredders (Hardcover)

Don't be misled by the title of this book. Although it is about a family of metal shredders, it is above all a beautifully written novel about people getting by in the world as best they can and trying to do no harm. If you like to read books where the writing is the reason for the book, you will like The Metal Shredders. This book deserves a lot of attention.