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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clever and funny,
By
This review is from: Welcome to Higby : A Novel (Paperback)
Although very different from Dunn's previous masterpiece "Ella Minnow Pea", "Welcome to Higby" is every bit as imaginative and humorous. Through a series of interrelated vignettes of small town Mississippi life, each titled with a relevant Biblical verse, Dunn depicts the lives of some of Higby's residents, each of whom struggles with a personal problem. These problems run the gamut from the mundane to the hilarious. Talitha is kidnapped by a small religious vegan cult. Oren, the town minister, has a crush on the town tootsie and worries about his son Clint, who climbed to the top of the town's water tower and fell off. Carmen crafts pictures with macaroni and gets advice from her guardian angel on making the best of her shopping dollar. The clueless but good-hearted Euless is stunned by a financial windfall from his employer. Hank, on the edge of the downhill slide of Alzheimers, preaches to the neighborhood pets and frequently wanders off, to the consternation of his sister. Stewie has found God, but is foundering in his relationship with women. Ex-convict Bowmar is dogged by the police for every crime in town even though he is reformed and above suspicion. In spite of all the goings-on, this novel never degenerates into a soap opera. The common thread binding all the story lines is the endurance of love and redemption. The reader is in turn amused, touched, concerned, and ultimately satisfied that the residents of Higby have bumbled their way to a happier life. So take a trip to Higby and enjoy the ride!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Endearing and Humorous!,
By LGS (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Welcome to Higby (Hardcover)
Mark Dunn's new book is the perfect antidote to winter chill. Curl up with it in front of a fireplace while a blizzard rages outside, and watch it warm your heart and cheer your soul. Set in a small town in the Bible Belt south, the book traces the lives of several characters, including a despondent minister, a sagacious masseuse, the local male heartthrob and several cultists, over a Labor Day weekend. Stereotypes quickly fade in the author's able hands, as he weaves a tale of his characters' endearing foibles and takes the plot round some unexpected twists and turns. There are some absolutely hilarious passages, written with a deadpan humor that had me laughing out loud in the middle of the night. The book is in many ways richer than the author's award-winning "Ella Minnow Pea", and demonstrates Dunn's extraordinary versatility as a writer - the subtext is more subtle, the humor more biting, the author's command of setting and tone more skilled. Well done!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Laughed Out Loud, and Read it Twice!,
This review is from: Welcome to Higby (Hardcover)
Torrid sex in an abandoned dental chair. A risky escape from a brainwashing cult. A sexy BBW guardian angel doling out advice like candy. Sounds like a funny novel? It is, and Dunn brings a wonderfully whimsical attitude to this lighthearted story of cozy southern life. Virtually everyone in a single family is accident-prone, and the rest of the town talks about how stupid or feeble they must be to get themselves into such messes.Across town, the newly born-again Christian Stewie Kipp revives a romance with his longtime girlfriend Marci in a vacant dentist's office. Most of the people inside this story are still trying to make up their minds on whether they love beer or each other more. I vote they love the beer, but Dunn doesn't let them say. The strength of this book is how well the author conflates lives and personalities with ease and without falling into tired stereotypes. This book flies by when you're reading it and reading it a second time allows you to laugh at things you didn't catch the first time. Spend a weekend with it and you won't regret it!
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