Jonathan Evison is the author of the novels All About Lulu, West of Here, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, Lawn Boy, and Legends of the North Cascades. He lives with his wife and family in Washington State.
New York Times Editor's Choice
Washington Post Notable Works of Fiction for 2012
Kansas City Star Top 100 Books of 2012
Seattle Times' 25 Best Books of 2012
Editors' Pick for Amazon's Best of 2012 list
The Millions "A Year in Reading" list for 2012 "Engaging . . . The
journey is reckless and wild, infused with the sad rage that makes
good comedy great . . . As this carload of misfits moves east,
relationships are broken and forged, and Ben recreates a kind of
family. This could be horribly clichéd and yet it isn't, because
Evison never bows to what we expect from happy endings." --Jennifer
Gilmore, The New York Times Book Review "Evison's third and most
stealthily powerful novel . . . [is] a book so poignant yet
improbably funny . . . [An] adventurous story."--Janet Maslin, The
New York Times "A journey back to life . . . bittersweet . . . It's
moving and funny, and, my God, how refreshing it is to read a story
about someone caring for a disabled person that isn't gauzed in
sentimentality or bitterness." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"Evison's prose is replete with his gifts for witty imagery and
turns of phrase . . . With its extremely cinematic plot and
collection of quirky scenes, the novel might remind you of Little
Miss Sunshine meets Rain Man . . . The Revised Fundamentals of
Caregiving is even-keeled, big-hearted, and very funny, and full of
hope. Through Ben, missteps are made, and human foibles are
exposed. But we also glimpse that distant shore of hard-earned
redemption. For that, Evison's novel is worth the voyage."--The
Boston Globe "An entertaining picaresque and a moving story of
redemption."--The New Yorker "Allow me to add my voice to the
chorus of praise that has greeted The Revised Fundamentals of
Caregiving...Grimly hilarious."--The Wall Street Journal "It's a
story of heartbreak and healing . . . This is a novel with a
terrific sense of the relationship between comedy and tragedy."
--The Daily Beast "Evison has given us a salty-sweet story about
absorbing those hits and taking a risk to reach beyond them. What a
great ride." --The Seattle Times "Evison has an easy fluidity with
the dashed dreams and disappointments of characters who don't ask
for pity." --Seattle Weekly "The comic novel may be the hardest
work of fiction to pull off well . . . The Revised Fundamentals of
Caregiving is a showcase of what makes a good one tick: Characters
just a touch disconnected from reality, a prevailing sense of
life's absurdity and a handful of rude jokes . . . Evison proves
that some of the best comedy emerges from lives that have jumped
the rails."--Minneapolis Star Tribune "A warm, funny look at
recovering from tragedy."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "A cathartic
novel that will leave readers breathing a heavy sigh of pleasurable
release. Its offensive at times, witty, funny, and an excellent
example of modern realism . . . Evison offers readers bittersweet
highs and tragic lows while illuminating all the sticky, messy
passages in between. No matter what you're in the mood for, pick up
this little gem. In less than 300 pages, the weight of the world
will feel a little lighter on your shoulders in the aftershock of
Ben's tragedy. Your prospects may seem brighter next to Trev's grim
future. Your eyes will sting from laughter at the dark, unforgiving
humor. You won't have any regrets."--The Missourian "A zany road
trip from grief to grace . . . [A] sometimes funny, sometimes
slapstick, big-hearted novel."--The Oregonian "Evison's brand of
feel-good storytelling comes from life's trenches, where hope and
humor must endure in the face of despair."--Fort Worth
Star-Telegram "Evison has developed the command of craft and
tightness of focus necessary to animate quirky characters and
outlandish set pieces."--Philadelphia City Paper "I think you're
going to be hearing a lot about Jonathan Evison's new novel.
Reviews will mention the construction of the book (alternating time
periods, brilliantly handled), the secondary characters (all
vivid), the road trip (crazy and transforming), and the perfect
blend of humor and sadness. One of Evison's gifts is creating
characters that are easy to care about . . . It's a
thought-provoking story about two men trying to do their best in a
world that doesn't play fair."--Beth Fish Reads "Luminously moving
and very funny." --The Rumpus "Smart and bittersweet and attuned to
the absurdity of life -- Evison's book is the literary version of a
good grunge song."--LA Weekly ("Book of the Week" selection) "Let's
not mince words. The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving is far and
away the best novel Jonathan Evison has ever written . . . It's
funny, moving, and lively, the sort of novel that will appeal to
avid readers and to people who only manage to read one or two books
in a year. The secret, the trick to the book, is in the voice of
the narrator, which feels so true that it simply can't be denied."
--The Stranger "Evison manages to find considerable humor in this
plaintive story of care giving and receiving . . . A lively
narrative with a poignant core and quirky, lonely
characters."--Kirkus Review
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
