Spooner (Hardcover) [Unknown Binding]

Pete Dexter (Author) (Author)

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• ASIN: B0030GVZP0
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,808,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favorites in contemporary American fiction, December 19, 2011

By 

Evelyn Getchell "Evie" (Gulf Coast of Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spooner (Hardcover)

I genuinely love Pete Dexter's Spooner (Hardcover). This sensitive and well-crafted tragicomedy ranks very high on my list of all-time favorite contemporary American fiction.

Under the spell cast by Dexter's brilliantly composed sentences, clever metaphors, expressive language, attention to detail and superb mastery in the art of storytelling, it was easy for me to suspend disbelief and become completely engaged in this poignant tale of the ever self-deprecating Warren Spooner, a man emotionally troubled, needy for love, and hungry for the "good opinion" of his stepfather, Calmer Ottosson, "the greatest man he ever knew or at least the greatest man who had ever known him."

The funny but sad story of these two beautifully animated, unforgettable characters is "fantastic and ordinary at the same time," words I borrow from the narrative itself (in reference to a short story by Cheever which Calmer loves). To give a synopsis of the plot here in review is a disservice to the reader and diminishes the impact of the story, a story of the parallel lives of Spooner and Calmer, of the silent void which frustrates and separates them, of their struggle to reach and fully embrace each other.

I enthusiastically give my 5 star rating to Spooner (Hardcover) because it is a novel of tenderness and poignancy, of laughter and mockery; a novel metaphoric in language and humorous in manner; a novel which touched me deeply and made me laugh heartily. I was completely captivated by every single page and I highly recommend it for a most satisfying and rewarding reading experience.