Norwood

" Charles Portis] understood, and conveyed, the grain of America, in ways that may prove valuable in future to historians trying to understand what was decent about us as a nation." --Donna Tartt, New York Times Book Review

Out of the American neon desert of Roller Dromes, chili parlors, country music, and girls who want "to live in a trailer and play records all night" comes ex-marine and troubadour Norwood Pratt. Sent on a mission to New York he gets involved in a wild journey that takes him in and out of stolen cars, freight trains, and buses. By the time he returns home to Texas, Norwood has met his true love, Rita Lee, on a bus; befriended the second shortest midget in show business and "the world's smallest perfect fat man"; and helped Joann "the chicken with a college education," realize her true potential in life. As with all Portis' fiction, the tone is cool, sympathetic, and funny.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 08/01/1999
ISBN: 9780879517038
Pages: 272
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 0.60d

Review Citations: Ingram Advance 08/01/1999 pg. 54
Library Journal 09/01/1999 pg. 238
Entertainment Weekly 12/10/1999 pg. 105
New York Times 12/26/1999 pg. 20