Jumper III
This is the third book featuring John Cable, also known as "Jumper." There is a mystery to solve, but also some laughs along the way. Jumper is a gentle, big-hearted guy in his mid 20s who lives in a tiny apartment near Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado. He was orphaned as a kid but slipped through the social services cracks and wound up living alone, raising himself. He's not stupid or mentally challenged but his grammar and vocabulary remain stunted. These books are written in his simple, uneducated voice. As with Huck Finn, sometimes that's funny. In Jumper III, our hero is thrust into the completely alien (to him) world of professors of English Literature and their feud about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. While navigating those dark and mysterious waters, Jumper tries to find a stray dog's home and solve a murder.
How to Leave the House
A New Yorker Best Book of the Year "It may sound peculiar that a story featuring chapter-length text message exchanges and a hysterical egg fight during a gender reveal party could contain such potent, moving allusions to philosophy and James Joyce, let alone be filled with richly observed artistic references reminiscent of Ali Smith, but Newman weaves the analytical and the absurd with a raucous grace. . .Profound--and profoundly sidesplitting." --Bobby Finger, The New York Times Book Review It's Natwest's last day before he leaves for university, and there's only one thing on his mind: the deeply embarrassing package he ordered to his house--which still hasn't arrived. He won't leave town without it. Any alternative is too distressing to consider. . . This is the story of twenty-four hours in the life of Natwest, and his small-town odyssey in pursuit of the missing package. And yet it's also the story of a middle-aged dentist who dreams of being a respected artist--but the only thing he can seem to paint is the human mouth. And it's the story of a tortured imam involved in a quasi-romantic entanglement with the local vicar; and an octogenerian mourning the death of her secretive husband; and a troubled teenager whose nudes have leaked on the internet. It's the story of Natwest's obnoxious ex-boyfriend, and his class-traitor mother and her childhood boyfriend, and the life-changing secrets he knows about Natwest's past. Alternating between Natwest's idiosyncratic inner world and the perspectives of the other characters--and dazzling in its energy, imagination and originality--this is an outrageously funny and tenderly moving story about being connected to everyone and everything at all times; about love, friendship, and the lies we tell ourselves; about unhappy endings, happy endings--and whether anything really is as simple as one or the other.
Plays Well with Others
"Funny, relatable fiction for anyone who thinks they're above the fray but still want to read all about it."--People"Heavenly hilarity for readers."--Good HousekeepingA whip-smart, satirical romp through the minefield of modern motherhood, in the vein of Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Fleishman Is in TroubleIt takes a village...just not this one. Annie Lewin is at the end of her rope. She's a mother of three young children, her workaholic husband is never around, and the vicious competition for spots in New York City's kindergartens is heating up. An advice-columnist for a parenting website, Annie can't help but judge the insanity of it all--even as she finds herself going to impossible lengths to secure the best spot for her own son.As Annie comes to terms with the infinitesimal odds of success, she is pushed to the brink. Of course, this newly raw and unhinged version of Annie is great for her advice column: the more she spins out, the more clicks and comments she gets.But when she commits a ghastly social faux pas that goes viral, she's forced to confront the question: is she really any better than the cutthroat parents she always judged?
Three Stories (the Use Of A Flower, A Long Day, While The Rain Lasted) By The Authoress Of 'days At Leighscombe.'
