Sometimes you read a book and wonder, "Where have you been all my life?"Well, Tom Drury's "The End of Vandalism" has been sitting tucked away in boxes and hidden closets the past seven or so years, in fact, not making the grade for inclusion on my overflowing main bookshelves. Finally, I found it again and resolved to read it at last, and it was a total delight.This novel is a stellar example of the quirky American regional novel — Midwest, in this case — peppered with humor, odd characters, real lives with sharply funny twists. "The End of Vandalism" is a bit like a Midwestern Charles Portis or a more oddball Jon Hassler: high praise from me.We tend to want plots in our novels; understandably so. Throwing a twist into true-to-life but not providing a meaty, linear plot to grab on to is tough to pull off. "The End of Vandalism" isn't entirely plotless and episodic, but it does meander, just like life. Here we have a few touchstones of plot: county sheriff Dan Norman runs for re-election, gets romantically involved with Louise Darling and investigates a baby found in a Hy-Vee parking lot; Louise's ex, Tiny, moves away from Grouse County (it's unquestionably rural Iowa) and comes back; Louise deals with troubles of her own and needs some space. But mostly it hops from one day to the next or one month to the next on thin sinews of plot as our heroes find something else to worry over. And, despite its title, the novel doesn't deal much with vandalism, although having an irritated Tiny knock apart an anti-vandalism display at the high school dance is pretty fun.Drury writes snappy, witty dialogue. His mostly self-absorbed Midwesterners shift gears hilariously in conversation, often only half-listening to each other as they latch on to another topic. This droll novel, told in simple but sharp language, is a wonder of deadpan humor, but isn't over-the-top nuts, and has its share of serious moments. But it's the funny bits that provide the charm, and they're the reason to read this book. Here are a few exerpts to show you what we're dealing with here:* "It is an unnoted fact of Midwest life that the old farmer rummaging through pocket T-shirts at Ben Franklin might have a wardrobe like Cary Grant's at home in the attic."* "He was a steady drinker who sometimes seemed unusually intent on losing consciousness."* "She did not expect him to be home, and the phone rang in that neutral way it does when no one is going to answer."* "'I like when they say God is a jealous God. Because you can imagine him storming around Heaven going, "All right, where were you last night?"'"* "The game was a local variation of poker called Russ Tried Screaming. No one knows how the game got this name, although there are some speculative guesses."The first half of "The End of Vandalism" shines brightest, but stick around for the whole show. These Midwesterners will make you glad you stopped by to visit.
The Americans are giving me a good reading year. I loved this novel. First published in 1994, it must have flown under the radar and has just been republished. I stumbled across it while listening to the always great New Yorker Fiction podcast. ( http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t... ) The New Yorker features what became chapter 4 of the novel though within the podcast, it is called ‘Accident at the Sugar Beet’. It’s read by Antonya Nelson and discussed with Deborah Treisman. Listen to it for a taste of this book.Nelson says that the “people in this story remind me so much of my family. It’s so excellent to be in their company, for me. There’s a lot of deadpan humor and warmth without sentimentality. And, for me, it feels familiar and like something I want to hang on to and have out in the world.” I felt like that too – I wanted to hang out in this place. Chapter 4 follows Louise, one of 3 main characters in the novel as she begins a relationship with Dan, the sheriff of this Midwestern fictional place.It’s a little bit Lake Woebegone but also the fiction of small towns where the past casts a deep shadow on the present and change comes slowly. You get elements of old stories; some of which recur but some which remain unresolved – just as happens in real life. There’s local politics, bad behaviour and an election. It is sad and funny in equal amounts. This is from a review: “The main narrative concerns the small fictional town of Grouse and residents like Louise Darling and the two men who love Louise Darling: her soon to be ex-husband Tiny and thirtysomething local sheriff Dan Norman. Dan usurps Tiny – and also arrests him when he smashes a window at – yes – an "End of Vandalism" dance the community are holding to discourage people from wrecking things. And if that sounds like a dodgy joke, I've done the book a disservice. “ (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...)The writing is delicious – the reviewer (above) and I both marked the same bit of prose: “Dan and Louise's first coupling, for instance: "Dan surprised Louise with his sexual side, and she felt like a retired skier from the movies who learns everything over again and wins the big jump against the East Germans in a blur of sun on snow."Like myself, most reviewers can’t understand why was not more lauded on first publication. I’ve looked up what else was around in 1994. In Australia, Richard Flanagan had just published ‘The Death of a River Guide’, Robert Dessaix ‘A Mother’s Disgrace’. Cormac McCarthy put out ‘The Crossing’ - the second of his ground-breaking ‘westerns’. E Annie Prouix won the Pulitzer for The Shipping News’. The Booker was won by James Kelman for a novel I haven’t read (‘How Late it Was How Late’). There was a lot of good stuff out there in 1994 but this one still reads well.
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I started reading this book after I heard a portion of it read on a New Yorker podcast. I understand that it is the first part of a trilogy of books about the same basic characters. I will be seeking out the next two books because this writer creates characters who are vivid, funny, and quietly heroic without seeming to be made up at all. Anyone who grew up in a small town (whether you stayed in that small town or escaped to some other place) will relate to these characters. Drury seems to be a master of the understated ironies and tragedies that make up a real but ordinary life in a small town.
—Steve
This is a surprisingly strong book. I stumbled across this book when reading a blurb on Amazon about Tom Drury's newest book due out this spring. The strong blurbs posted in regards to The End of Vandalism are all valid and if anything understated. The book visits a small rural county in the Midwest, in Iowa I believe but here at one thirty a.m. I may not be remembering that correctly. As the book begins we see Tiny and Louise Darling giving blood. They are helped along in the process by County Sheriff Dan Norman. Soon on another night Dan will be arresting Tiny for his part in a bar fight and warning him of his, at that moment, unprovable suspicions so Tiny's part in a series of unsolved burglaries. As the story progresses the couple splits up and As Dan and Louise grow closer we watch their lives, and the lives of the odd folks of their community unfold. The folks in this book talk like we all should, or would if we wanted to speak clearly and with a touch of wry in what we say. Tom Drury has been compared to Faulkner and even O'Connor but if anything I would say he was an odd mix of Ray Carver and James Thurber. Carver for his descriptive down on their luck characters and Thurber for the absolute absurdness of what seems to happen daily in these peoples lives. This is one of those books where I found myself offering context to my wife and then quoting a passage. One even found it's way to my Facebook status. Without giving any lot away I will offer just two of the many quotable lines in this book. Louise said to her pastor " I like the idea of a jealous God. That way I can imagine him storming around heaven saying where were you last night."Later in the book Louise is at the local pharmacy and worries about her purchase of a pregnancy test, she makes sure it has a price tag. The imagined scrutiny of a loud price check is on her mind. As the transaction is completed however she thinks "that the sales boy handled the purchase with no discernment of the item in question. She decides that must have been taught to him in sales boy school." Perhaps it is just me but a clever turn of a phrase is worth it's weight in gold to me and in this book time and time again the author 's characters speak with a level of candor and simplicity that forces both smiles and sadness from the reader, often at the same time. An excellent choice of an author we should all be reading.
—Jeff
The End of Vandalism was a great book once you start to "get it." It is written in extremely simple language, deliberately paced, and the humor is DRY in the extreme. The writing has a very specific rhythm to it -- unlike any book I can think of that I've read before -- that takes some getting used to. But once you are won over to these characters and style and pacing it is an absolutely wonderful read and ultimately very affecting. (I am interested to read something else by Tom Drury; this was his first novel.) The dialogue is especially wonderful - seeming disconnections and roundabout rejoinders that (again, once you start to hear it) ring true and can be absolutely hilarious. The characterizations in the novel are especially razor-sharp and always accomplished with a complete deadpan. No character seems to be authorially judged in the book, nor does anyone stray into the realm of "comedic creation" or "caricature." No wild or wacky hilarious people in this book, only deft and quietly funny (and/or quietly tragic) people that you might know, do know, or could certainly imagine knowing. And while there IS a lot of dry humor, there's also a lot of quiet philosophy and rumination about America in general, the Midwest more specifically, the way people relate to each other, and also about a certain quiet, small way of life that may or may not be endangered at this time in the world. It's funny, sure, but also smart and sad and moving. A really terrific book full of purposeful, careful writing. Five stars for sure.
—Martin
