War Memorials [Hardcover]

Clint McCown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

At first the lizard was just one more source of tension between us. Laney bought it secondhand from some woman down in Huntsville who said it kept her cockroach problem under control. She told Laney it was a fine lizard, whatever that means, and she flat hated to sell it but she was just about to get married and didn't think she's need a lizard anymore. I guess we all start out with high expectations.

Jimmy Vann was twice reported dead in World War II, and only after reading his own glowing obituary did he find his true calling: selling life insurance. Jimmy's son, Nolan, falls far short of his father's expectations. With no war of his own to reckon with, Nolan lives a life without gravity in the small Southern town in which he grew up.

During the span of a two-week carnival and in the midst of a failing marriage, Nolan finds work as a repo man and inadvertently begins a journey of self-discovery. On the fringes of town, where repo work is plentiful, he encounters an inspired cast of characters including a zookeeper who specializes in dangerous animals, an inconvenient corpse, and a family of snake handlers. Despite a seemingly endless series of mishaps, Nolan persists in his efforts to convince the reader-- and himself-- that his life means something.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There are only two types of men in McCown's (The Member-Guest) courageous and brutal novel set in a backwater Southern town in 1992: those who served their country in war and those who did not. Nolan Vann, 33, never served in the armed forces, but he's draped in the shadow of his war-hero father in a county whose men have fought in every conflict from 1812 to Desert Storm. Now Nolan's been fired by his own father from his job selling life insurance, and he believes his wife, Laney, is pregnant by her boyfriend, Steve, with whom Nolan used to play baseball. Nolan searches for direction and stability in a world as chaotic and hostile to him as any enemy territory. Readers accompany the protagonist on his emotional tour of duty as he repossesses household appliances, finds a dead body, rescues a snake-bitten teen, aids an arrow-pierced chef and witnesses his rival literally explode. Through his confrontations with a cast of quirky, dispirited country folk and the memory of his dead mother, who strategically used Nolan as a pawn in her own emotional battle, readers will come to understand the private wars and resulting casualties Nolan and those around him suffer in their daily lives. This is a forceful and often cynically humorous novel. Each chapter reads like a tightly knit short story with rich dialogue reinforcing the theme of life as a struggle for survival; one need not serve in the military, McCown teaches, to learn the lessons of combat. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Within the confines of a small southern town and the life of a failed insurance salesman turned repo man, McCown has created a bittersweet novel, at turns comic and sadly introspective. Jimmy Vann, our repo man, is a failure in the eyes of his father, a World War II hero. His marriage has broken down into absence and silence, interrupted only by occasional miscommunication. His means of earning a living, meanwhile, have become precarious at best. And nearly all of his relationships are, if not falling apart, undergoing profound change. It would all seem terribly depressing were it not for both the steady cast of southern characters, who manage to enliven the novel without, miraculously, seeming in the least cliche, and, of course, Jimmy's wry and melancholic, sly and rib-pokingly funny voice. McCown does a lot with a little. This book was written with the economy of a short story, and the smallest gesture or understated remark often carries great meaning. For all fiction collections; reading groups should enjoy discussing this work. Brian Kenney
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Press (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555973124
• ISBN-13: 978-1555973124
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,414,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clint McCown was born in Fayetteville, TN, but grew up in Birmingham, AL and Gettysburg, PA. The son of a Secret Service agent, in his teens he was yardboy for former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After graduating from Wake Forest University, he studied acting at the Circle-in-the Square in NYC and subsequently toured with the National Shakespeare Company and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. He worked as a broadcast journalist in 1978 and received the Associated Press Award for Documentary Excellence for his investigations of Organized Crime and political corruption. After receiving his MFA from Indiana University, where he served as editor of Indiana Review, he taught for 20 years at Beloit College, where he also served as founding editor and publisher of the Beloit Fiction Journal. Several of his plays have been produced; he has worked as a screenwriter for Warner Bros. and a Creative Consultant for HBO television. He is currently head of the MFA program at Virginia Commonwealth University and a faculty member for the Vermont College of Fine Arts low-residency MFA program. His novels include The Member-Guest, War Memorials, and The Weatherman; his poetry collections include Sidetracks, Labyrinthiad, Wind Over Water, and Dead Languages. The only two-time winner of the American Fiction Prize, he is also a past recipient of the Society of Midland Authors Award, the S. Mariella Gable Prize, an Academy of American Poets Prize, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers designation, a Distinction in Literature citation from the Wisconsin Library Association, the Germaine Bree Book Award, an NEA grant, and three Pulitzer nominations. His stories, poems, and essays have appeared widely.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drama in the Commonplace, December 10, 2000

By 

David Milofsky "Jean Milofsky" (Englewood, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War Memorials (Hardcover)

What Clint McCown accomplishes in his new novel is nothing short of miraculous: reveal meaning in the most mundane occurrances of our lives. Through his meticulous examination of small town life, he locates the universal in experiences ranging from father/son relationships to love and death. His feckless hero is nonetheless a hero and his adventures and misadventures become guideposts for the pitfalls we all face in our lives. It's a wonderful book, beautifully rendered, and recommended for everyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very likable protagonist, breezy in style., August 15, 2001

By 

algo41 "algo41" (philadelphia, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War Memorials (Hardcover)

McCown sets out to make his protagonist, Nolan Vann, very likable, and he succeeds. He sets out to capture the positive aura of a small town where everyone knows everyone, and he succeeds there also, without whitewashing some unsavory aspects of small town life. The book is quite readable, but a little too slick. The final scene is particularly well written. For those readers who liked this book, but wish it weren't so slick, I recommend Shameless by Lisa Reardon.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great new talent, August 9, 2001

By 

Kathy Papst (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War Memorials (Hardcover)

I loved reading about the quirky, yet funny characters in this novel. I identified with Nolan's search for meaning in an ordinary life without guideposts, like his father's war, to lend him meaning. We all want to feel special and feel that we are doing something worthwhile and we want to be happy and loved. I rooted for Nolan to "get it together" and find his happiness. The writing style is fresh and I laughed out loud at some of the people in Nolan's little town, (especially the parts about "Fred"). I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes humor with great characters and a fresh outlook on ordinary humans who struggle to find their own war memorials.