Spinners: A Novel [Paperback]

Anthony Mccarten (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000

In this rollicking first novel, a small town its thrown into an uproar when several of its teenage citizens claim to have been impregnated by spacemen. Are they "spinning" tales? A crushed cow found lying in the center of a scorched, perfect circle in a nearby field suggests they're not--and the rumor mill goes into overdrive with the arrival of Phillip, the new librarian. He falls for Delia and is soon caught up in the irresistible drama of uncovering the town's darkest secrets. What he finds shakes the community far more than a flying saucer ever could.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Delia Chapman, the heroine of Anthony McCarten's extraterrestrial black comedy, Spinners, is 16 years old and pregnant--quite possibly by (she says) alien beings who "took her on their vessel. They had silver suits and stainless-steel boots. The vessel was ultra-modern and entirely impressive." The first person Delia tells her story to is the local policeman who finds her wandering on the highway outside the small New Zealand town of Opunake. As the story spreads, theories abound as to why she would make up such a thing. One explanation holds that her job at Borthwick's Freezing Works had unhinged her since "it was known that 80 percent of the town's female population were being taxed to the point of near nervous collapse by the factory's unrelenting regimen." Another faction suggests that Delia, who is known to wear a Lakers NBA basketball cap and a University of North Carolina T-shirt, and to carry a walkman wherever she goes, might simply have taken "the next logical step in her metamorphosis into a Yank" with her wild tale of alien abduction.

Skeptical as the local townspeople are, the discovery of a dead cow in the middle of a crop circle adds credence to Delia's story, and soon little Opunake is at the center of a media blitz. Then Phillip Sullivan, an ex-soldier with a dream of reopening the town library, arrives and falls for our heroine. One by one, secrets are laid bare, mysteries resolved, and nobody's life will be the same again. McCarten, a successful playwright, has woven together a novel that is both very funny and very serious. This is one extraterrestrial story with its feet planted firmly on the ground. --Alix Wilber --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In this sprightly, quirky novel about contemporary small-town New Zealand, teenage meat packer Delia Chapman's claim that she has encountered a group of aliens is at first considered temporary insanity because of the stresses of her job. For how else can her story, which gains her instant tabloid fame and the envy of her catty friends, be explained? Things get stranger when Delia realizes she's pregnant, but remembers little more of her extranatural experience than lights and noise. When two of Delia's friends also disclose their pregnancies and likewise blame the spacemen, the town of Opunake begins to buzz with reporters. Delia's problems are compounded by the facts of her life on earth: an abusive father, a mother lost to suicide, an incompetent mechanic boyfriend. Philip Sullivan, the town's new librarian and the book's unlikely hero, is a quiet intellectual with a temper that's recently earned him a dishonorable discharge from the army. McCarten, a well-known New Zealand playwright, filmmaker and short story writer, adeptly describes the snowballing effects of national publicity and town gossip. His fresh dialogue and keen, devilish sense of humor make the facile resolution this novel's only disappointing moment. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 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: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688179045
• ISBN-13: 978-0688179045
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,834,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, June 28, 1999

By 

A. Marshall "Ann S." (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spinners (Hardcover)

I wasn't prepared to be won over by a book from down under, but Spinners is a complete delight from beginning to end. An unpredictable plot, enticing characters, well-wrought language, steady pace, and a satisfying finish all add up to a whopping good read. I hope this talented New Zealander, who has distinguished himself with notable stage and screen scripts, will turn his pen to prose soon again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kept me hooked from beginning to end (and beyond!), May 26, 1999

By 

M. B. Truman "estrogenbrigade" (Kingsland, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spinners (Hardcover)

What a joyride this book was! McCarten is brilliant at characterizations-I could easily "see" each and every person he introduced along the way. And the ending...left me wondering if the resolution was what I thought it was! Just wonderful...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All In All, I Definitely Enjoyed It, October 19, 2003

By 

MaNDii (Long Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spinners: A Novel (Paperback)

First, let me say I am fourteen and had NO trouble reading and understanding this book. Okay, now, what made me get this book from the library was the cover. A nice bright green with a picture of a cow on the front. It stood out from all the other boring covered ones. From the cover alone you can tell this is going to be a good WITTY book. Witty is definitely the best word to describe it. I loved the plot: a 16 year old girl claims to see spacemen and claims to be having their baby. Theres some twists and turns, surprizes and things you can foretell, but one thing I must, not complain, but comment about, is the ending. I think the ending where everything comes into perspective was crammed into a certain amount of pages. Everything came together so quickly. It would have been better if everything had unravelled not slowly - but not as fast.

All in all this was a great book. A good way to spend a leisurely weekend. Definitely some good laughs and things to tell your friends about. x0x