The stories collected in This Is Not the Tropics come from the geographic center of a divided nation, and its protagonists evoke a split personality—one half submerged in America’s own diehard mythology, the other half searching to escape tradition. Together they form a portrait of the Plains that is both quirky and poignant. While the themes in this collection are familiar—love and betrayal, loneliness and regret, the needs of the individual versus the needs of the community—the stories themselves are startling and new. Whether it is the story of an eccentric, out-of-work accordion player; a woman ending a long marriage against the backdrop of a visit from her failing mother; a young girl who wishes to solve a mystery until real mystery enters her life; two sisters who watch as their mother battles an entire town, including their father; a man who comes to be suspicious of his new girlfriend’s stalker story; or all of the men in a small Nebraska town who annually compete in a hilariously earnest beauty pageant, these are tales that speak of the lives lived in the small towns, the prairie cities, and on the dirt roads off blue highways in the middle of nowhere and everywhere.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A clear-eyed portrait of the Plains emerges over 15 debut stories from University of Nebraska press executive editor Randolf. In "Billy,"a long-resigned housewife trapped in a loveless marriage gets ready to flee town with a more compatible if unexciting married man when her husband suddenly dies. In the poignant, unnerving "Hyacinths," an unexpected pregnancy and the possibility of a church group's dubious intervention causes a once cheerful mother to rebel against the hypocrisy of a town "fossilized in the past." House-sitting her eccentric professor's home, replete with pornographic art and two needy pugs, may have more to teach a young college student about life than her closest friends in "The Girls." A small Nebraska town becomes a hotbed of aggressively charged transvestism in "Miss Kielbasa," as local men ready for the annual "queen contest" while a white daughter frets over her family's reaction to her upcoming nuptials to a black man. Solid but never surprising, the stories have a claustrophobic feel that is often appropriate to their characters' circumscribed lives, but that just as often limits their reach. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
In this collection, Randolph's stories are set in small towns in Nebraska and brim with timeless truths about love, insecurity, and the glue that holds relationships together. In "What She Knows" an unmarried and pregnant 22-year-old struggles with her options until realizing how much she already loves her unborn son, who she knows will have red hair and freckles, and play trombone "with gusto" in his grade-school band. In "Billy" a long-suffering wife's alcoholic husband dies before she can carry out her brave plan to leave him. Most stories have an obvious main theme and a subtle underlying one, providing an unexpected twist with surprising depth. In "Miss Kielbasa," for example, Randolph depicts a family's harried and hilarious participation in the town's annual drag queen contest; on the periphery lies the daughter's dread of telling her parents that her new boyfriend is black. From the wife who discovers her husband has a gay lover to the accordion player in a polka band, Randolph gets each and every character just right. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
beautiful,
By
This review is from: This Is Not the Tropics: Stories (Library of American Fiction) (Hardcover)
This collection is so well-written. I love the craft of each story, and I love the characters who are as tightly wrapped up as the woman on the cover, but with that flash of passion--whether it be love or sadness that drives them. Her writing is so visual--I've got all the scenes in my head--I'd love to see these up on the screen. The stories can be haunting, but they also have flashes of humor. The stories can be quiet--they require a patient reader--but the payoff is worth it. I love this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glory Be,
By book worm (library bookstacks) - See all my reviews
This review is from: This Is Not the Tropics: Stories (Library of American Fiction) (Hardcover)
This is an outstanding, well written collection of short stories. They can remind me a little bit of Adrian Louis' writings - same bleak, desolate landscape set in the far west of the Midwest with characters making the best out of things where everything is stripped down to the barest essentials of life. Her stories can only take place in this region of the country; it is clear that Ladette Randolph has a deep understanding of this land nd the folks who live there. Her stories are like old crooning country songs. The writing flows melodiously, and Randolph depicts the various voices of each character right on cue. My favorite story is the one about the student house/dog sitting for her professor. It's such a strange story that has some creepy undertones, the reader can get a little spooked, unsure what the final outcome is going to be. The unknown gets explored and the main character discovers a truth from the whole ordeal. Some of her stories have very ethereal tones.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am very pleased to finally find an author who has a deep understanding of her characters and is adept at storytelling.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Pleasant Read,
By Allen (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: This Is Not the Tropics: Stories (Library of American Fiction) (Hardcover)
This little book is a surprise to me. I was not very impressed by the cover picture, but as soon as I started reading the first story, I lost myself in it. Ladette Randolph is an excellent writer and a keen observer of life in the Midwest America. Having lived in this region myself for many years, I enjoyed every story and often had the feeling that I might have met some of the characters in these stories in the past. I have recommended this book to all of my friends and will not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading a classic writer.
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