Scumbler (King Penguin) [Paperback]

William Wharton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 1986 | Series: King Penguin

The story of a joyous sixty-year-old American living on the Left Bank in Paris who makes a living by creating apartments out of the most unlikely spaces--and discovers remarkable characters: craftsmen, prostitutes, motorcyclists.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Better than Birdy. -- Doris Grumbach, Chicago Tribune --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

William Wharton is the bestselling author of eight novels, including Birdy, Dad, A Midnight Clear, Scumbler, Pride, Tidings, Franky Furbo, and Last Lovers and two memoirs, Ever After and Houseboat on the Seine. A native of Philadelphia, his works have been acclaimed worldwide and have been translated into over 15 languages. He lives in France. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam~trade (March 27, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140079270
• ISBN-13: 978-0140079272
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,765,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth a read!, January 15, 2000

By 

Gill Robinson (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scumbler (Paperback)

William Wharton has written an in depth portrait of an artist with a zest for life but with the inevitable frustration and depression of coping with an aging body. This book left me with a strong image of the man and his Parisian surroundings. I am sure many men would relate to this book and it helped me, a woman, understand the emotions that can affect elderly men. Maybe it was my shortcomings but I found the short verse lines which intersperse the narrative, not always helpful and often blocking the flow of the story. Overall another William Wharton delightful novel - I am a fan!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Painting the Streets of Paris, March 30, 2009

By 

Ford Ka (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews

Scumbler is a painter who works in the streets of Paris. Every morning he takes his brushes, paints etc and goes out in search for something that would be worth putting on his canvas. Every day brings new adventures, new people he meets, new places he discovers. Painting does not bring enough dough so he supplements his income by letting (more often subletting) apartmennts which also allows him to meet new people.
Sometimes he makes it and gets load of money for his work, sometimes disaster strikes and his paintings go up in smoke but his attitude to all that is as philosophical as that of Zorba the Greek. This is a man who has been through a lot and now enters the last period in his life so he makes sure it still is a life worth living.
The book often feels more like a collection of short stories than a novel, some characters disappear, some come back and some don't, some stories don't get a clear ending, but still it is worth to let Wharton take you for a ride in Paris of the 1970s which does not exist any more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Painting the Streets of Paris, March 30, 2009

By 

Ford Ka (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scumbler (Paperback)

Scumbler is a painter who works in the streets of Paris. Every morning he takes his brushes, paints etc and goes out in search for something that would be worth putting on his canvas. Every day brings new adventures, new people he meets, new places he discovers. Painting does not bring enough dough so he supplements his income by letting (more often subletting) apartmennts which also allows him to meet new people.
Sometimes he makes it and gets load of money for his work, sometimes disaster strikes and his paintings go up in smoke but his attitude to all that is as philosophical as that of Zorba the Greek. This is a man who has been through a lot and now enters the last period in his life so he makes sure it still is a life worth living.
The book often feels more like a collection of short stories than a novel, some characters disappear, some come back and some don't, some stories don't get a clear ending, but still it is worth to let Wharton take you for a ride in Paris of the 1970s which does not exist any more.