Strange Nervous Laughter [Hardcover]

Bridget McNulty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2009

You’ll not find six more remarkable characters: a cashier-turnedmotivational speaker, an undertaker with a toenail fetish, a girl wrapped in dreams, a man who communicates with whales, a garbage man with a peculiar sense of smell, and a Guinness Book of World Records representative. When a random holdup at a local grocery brings them together, their once separate lives intertwine in a humorous blend of lyricism, whimsy and wit. This is a rare book about what love does to us, how our lives are changed by being in love—and the odd ways in which we sometimes behave. Up-and-coming novelist McNulty shows herself to be a writer to watch.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The lives of six people collide in McNulty's magical realism–infused debut set in the South African city of Durban during the hottest summer on record. Beth, a cashier at a small grocery, is on duty when the store is robbed. She and the two customers, Mdu and Meryl, are unharmed but shaken. Soon after the robbery, Beth—who floats when she's happy—begins dating Pravesh, an undertaker who can sense death by a tingling at the back of his knees and heat in his ears. Mdu, who can speak to whales, meets Aisha, who's so caught up in her dreams that reality fails to register. Meryl, an assistant at Guinness World Records, is sent to interview Harry, who is trying to set a world record for eating only green foods. Though the characters fall in and out of love, the novel is not a romance but rather an examination of love, the ways we respond to it and how we delude ourselves about our choices. While the themes may sound weighty, McNulty's light touch and evocative descriptions of Durban make for an absorbing read. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

McNulty’s unapologetically whimsical tale follows the intersecting lives of six eccentric characters as peculiar obsessions, unexpected romances, and isolated lives collide following a random burglary in a local grocery store. One of the more engaging story lines follows the lovelorn Beth, a timid cashier at Handy Green Grocers, who literally floats when she is happy, especially after she becomes surreptitiously enamored of Pravesh, a brooding undertaker with a fetish for toenails and teenage pop stars. Meryl, a tightly wound Guinness Book representative, ferociously guards every emotion until she meets Harry, an idiosyncratic garbage man who steals tips at the local diner and surrounds himself with the discarded items he finds in the dump. The lonely Mdu is content to communicate only with whales until, after the burglary, he meets and falls in love with Aisha, a dreamy orphan whose tears turn into prismatic beads when she sleeps. Set against a sweltering South African summer, McNulty’s heady debut twines her characters’ unusual circumstances as they construct and destruct the joy and displeasure of love’s erratic consequences. --Leah Strauss

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312544340
• ISBN-13: 978-0312544348
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,689,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "What's love got to do with it?", May 12, 2009

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Nervous Laughter (Hardcover)

Although this charming little novel begins with a robbery that brings three of the six protagonists together, the theme is undoubtedly the vagaries of love: "Human nature is the source of all bad romantic comedies." In the unlikely pairings of a group of eccentric characters, the author explores the many faces and detours of romantic love. The city of Durban, South Africa, is immersed in the hottest summer that anyone can remember, the nights as humid and steamy as the ongoing dramas between disenchanted lovers. And what a rogue's gallery McNulty has provided: Beth, cashier in a neighborhood grocery compelled to save every man she falls in love with, thus perpetuating a constantly shattered heart; Pravesh, an undertaker, appearing at first the perfect boyfriend, unsure of himself and hiding a rather kinky fetish.

Aisha is a dreamer who floats through the world without direction; and Mdu has communicated with whales since childhood, half a man waiting to become part of a whole. Then there is Harry, collector of everyone's cast-offs, separated from loving parents by their untimely death. Perhaps the most complicated of all is Meryl, who has armored herself against the emotional pain of failed romance only to meet the perfect man and be blinded to his charms by her fear. In a blend of magical realism and black comedy, these tortured lovers stumble through the painful stages of romance, from euphoria to boredom, from terror to submission, from selfishness to fulfillment. For all its whimsy, there is a strong element of truth in these strange pairings, the urgency of connection to another human being, for approbation and acceptance, for completion.

As unique as the South African city where a steamy summer yields unusual couplings, each character is riddled with flaws and self-doubt, with hubris born of ignorance and frustration born of desperation. One cannot help but be enchanted by the prose of this talented writer, her imagination as fresh and vibrant as the ever-changing landscape of lovers at odds with one another and with fate. The most defiant and stubborn are brought to their knees by love's demands in a flavorful, spicy stew of false starts and leaps of faith. Luan Gaines/2009.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful whimsical tale of love, May 12, 2009

By 

Joy-Anne (Cape Town) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Nervous Laughter (Hardcover)

Bridget McNulty's Strange Nervous Laughter is a fantastical book all about love. I loved it for its magical realism, memorable characters and fascinating storylines that blurred the divisions between fantasy and reality. The setting, a sweltering summer in Durban, is perfect, and well described in a way that made me feel hot and sticky even as I read it on a cool Cape Town autumn day. The characters - those I loved and loathed - remained with me long after I closed the book. Well worth a read for those who don't mind a story that is not quite 'every day' in its telling. For my full review of Strange Nervous Laughter you're welcome to visit http://travelblog.portfoliocollection.com/Blog/BOOK-REVIEW-Strange-Nervous-Laughter-by-Bridger-McNulty

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and fun debut., April 14, 2009

By 

Mary L. Jacobs "BookHounds" (Huntington Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Nervous Laughter (Paperback)

This was a very strange read, with elements of the supernatural involved. I thought the characters were quite interesting and not something that you typically see in Chick Lit. It did remind me of Christopher Moore in that the characters are all a little off in someway and as they find their way to love, they become "normal". I can't wait to read the next one by this author as I was a little sad when this one ended.