Spilling Clarence: A Novel [Hardcover]

Anne Ursu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2002

What if you could suddenly remember everything that ever happened in your life? Would it be a blessing -- or a curse?

The answer is found in Spilling Clarence, a satisfying, witty, romantic, and tender novel. In the fictional town of Clarence, Minnesota, a breakroom microwave sparks a smoky fire at the pharmaceutical factory and triggers a massive chemical spill. Panic-stricken and paralyzed, the townspeople wait until the all-clear signal to assure them everything's back to normal. Except that it isn't. Over the coming days, the citizens of Clarence fall under the spell of a strange and powerful drug that unlocks their memories. They become trapped by their own reminiscences: of love and death, of war and childhood, of family they've lost and sins they've committed.

Beautifully rendered with a light comic touch, this bittersweet first novel is about more than the sum of its beguiling parts. It's about the need to remember, and about the bliss of forgetting. A universe peopled by exquisitely drawn characters, Spilling Clarence is a funny, moving story with a truly original premise that introduces the impressive talents of an exciting new writer.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Anne Ursu's gracefully layered first novel, Spilling Clarence, a fire at a psychopharmaceutical plant releases a yellow cloud of psychoactive chemicals into the air of a sleepy college town named Clarence. Disturbing effects begin to show up in the townspeople, especially in the residents--mainly former professors--of the cleverly named Sunny Shadows retirement home. They find themselves remembering events and people they had long forgotten, or revisiting their favorite memories to find that new details have been recovered, a few of which they would rather have kept suppressed. Happiness is only sometimes a side effect of these startling recollections. In some ways, the chemical spill speeds along emotional processes that are already a staple of contemporary fiction: recovered memory, the discovery of unexpected connections, and the confrontation of the past. Some readers may find Ursu's plot too cinematic, but she is never glib or opportunistic. Like a good theorist, she pursues her idea to its logical, often surprising conclusion in the life of each of her characters. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly

First novelist Ursu comes off as an Alice Hoffman wannabe who doesn't quite make the grade. Like Hoffman, she creates a small community here, the fictional Midwestern town of Clarence and describes a dramatic event that causes several characters to undergo life changes. When a leak at a psychopharmaceutical factory spills a drug called deletrium into the atmosphere, strange psychological reactions afflict Clarence's residents. One by one, they are traumatized by memories of the past that they had previously buried. Bernie Singer, a widowed psych professor at local Mansfield University, is forced to remember the auto accident that killed his wife and left him to raise alone his precocious daughter, Sophie, now nine years old. Bernie's mother, Madeline, a well-known novelist who is now blocked, is disturbed by memories of her relationship with her dead husband. Susannah Korbet, who works at Madeline's retirement home, must deal with her guilt about her mother's illness, while her fianc‚, a grad student whose specialty is memory studies, undergoes his own crisis. Ursu's what-if scenario is diverting to some degree, but the paint-by-numbers plot development soon becomes labored, and the relentlessly perky prose style calls attention to itself with too arch irony. The characters speak like robots who've never used a vernacular contraction, stiffly uttering "cannot" or "will not" or "do not" even in relaxed conversation, and the repetition of almost identical sentence patterns echoes the sing-song cadences of children's books. While the story is lightly engaging, Ursu never establishes the suspension of disbelief that Hoffman accomplishes with such dexterity.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Theia; 1st edition (January 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786867787
• ISBN-13: 978-0786867783
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,199,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It, November 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Spilling Clarence: A Novel (Hardcover)

This novel is both emotionally and intellectually significant-a rare find! At the heart of the book is a chemical, deletrium, that escapes into the town of Clarence. People find themselves remembering things they've forgotten, and many of those memories are painful. The questions raised here are fascinating and central to a culture where Prozac in the water supply wouldn't be all that unbelievable. (Just a bit. Just until we can start shopping again.) I was especially impressed with the authority of Anne Ursu's prose-truly astonishing for a first novelist. She can guide us past the memory wars of the last twenty years, and make it look easy (!), without once losing sight of her characters. I've already given this book to two grad school friends. I wish I could rate this ten stars; it's that good.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving and memorable..., April 9, 2003

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spilling Clarence (Paperback)

The main reason that prompted my buying of this book was the interesting premise. I thought the idea behind this book was something very original and unique, and I was definitely excited about reading it. And while Spilling Clarence did provide me with something out of the ordinary, I believe the novel was more depressing that I anticipated.

Spilling Clarence tells the story about a small town, Clarence, and the chemical leak that changed everything. An explosion at the town's psychopharmaceutical plant has sent mind-altering vapors into the air. At first, authorities weren't actually sure what to make of the incident, but soon they got their answers. These vapors, a chemical called Deletrium, unlocks the brain's hidden and repressed memories, encouraging patients (or in this case, town residents) to remember things they had forgotten. At first it doesn't sound so bad -- who doesn't like a trip down memory lane every once in a while? But soon, most of the town starts to unravel -- not everyone's memories bring smiles and joy.

While the story talks about many of Clarence's citizens, most of the detail is reserved for three main characters: Bennie, a college psychology professor, whose memories bring his deceased wife, Lizzie, back to life; Madeline, Bennie's mother, who resides at the Sunny Shadows retirement home, remembers the life she led as a wife and as a widow; and Susannah, an aide at the retirement home, who has her own troubled past, mostly in the form of a mentally ill mother. All of these characters are portrayed in rich detail, and author Anne Ursu leaves no rock overturned.

Spilling Clarence is an insightful, moving story about memories and the mind's natural process of storing them away. The writing is exquisite and thoughtful, yet simple and easy to understand when the author flits back and forth between past and present. The tone is more depressing than I expected -- there is a lot of "falling down into a crumpled, shaking heap" in this book! -- but then again, that is life and a lot memories we repress mostly relate to an unhappy time. Spilling Clarence is an honest piece of work, and I applaud Anne Ursu for writing it.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Trip Down Memory Lane, January 2, 2002

By 

thebookhaven.net (Los Angeles CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spilling Clarence: A Novel (Hardcover)

A chemical spill at a pharmaceutical factory has a direct effect on the residents of Clarence, Minnesota. The Deletruim gas released in the air enhances the mind, unlocking long-forgotten memories.

"Spilling Clarence follows several Clarence residents as they simultaneously undergo a brief, intense drug-induced walk down memory lane. Their experiences are heartfelt, sometimes tragic, and often funny.

Anne Ursu's novel is an impressive debut. Her characters are complex, yet easy to comprehend. The tone of the book coincides with the rise and fall of the residents' moods, letting readers come along for the Deletruim ride.

The author's generous use of subtle humor adds to this unique story.

It's hard to read "Spilling Clarence" without a smile on your face. It's sweet. It's sad. It's funny. It's good.