The Fireman's Fair

by Josephine Humphreys

Overview

In the aftermath of the storm of the century, Rob Wyatt, a thirty-two-year-old Charleston bachelor, finds himself assessing his life as well as his property damage. Life changes culminate at the annual Volunteer Fire Department Fair, as Rob's past and future collide in what could either be catastrophe or salvation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101656112
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/01/2000
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	596 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Josephine Humphreys is the author of Dreams of Sleep, which won the 1985 Hemingway Foundation Award for a first work of fiction; of Rich in Love, made into a major motion picture; and of The Fireman's Fair (all available from Penguin).

Editorial Reviews

With each succeeding novel ( Dreams of Sleep ; Rich in Love ), Humphreys has demonstrated a remarkable talent for creating appealing characters in domestic situations that reveal life's inherent ironies. Again set in Charleston, S.C., her new novel is witty, intelligent, psychologically acute and captivating. In the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, balding bachelor Rob Wyatt, 35, assesses his damaged expectations--an unrequited love for his partner's wife, Louise Camden; lack of interest in the practice of law--and decides to quit his job and coast for a while in a downwardly mobile life style. When Louise asks him to help 19-year-old waif Billie Poe find her way out of a strange marriage, Rob begins an emotional odyssey that will lead him to the truths about Louise, his parents' marriage, the secret that haunts his black friend Albert Smalls and, eventually, himself. Humphreys relates her story in graceful, pithy prose, unerring in tone and emphasis, full of wise and surprising insights: ``The creatures Rob liked best were those whose existence was marginal. . . . For that reason he liked pelicans, he liked waitresses.'' Her characterization of Rob is complex and nuanced; revealing the origin of his angst, an incident when at age 13 he was forced to betray his mother, Humphrey conveys Rob's social unease, his habithabit or hobby? it's more than a hobby, it's a compulsion of bird watching and his obsession with Louise as elements of a fully dimensional portrait. The other characters--including gamine Billie, with a tragicomic history; maverick, golden girl Louise; Rob's eccentric mother and doom-obsessed father-- are palpably real. Unobtrusively delineating the social fabric of Charleston, the narrative culminates in the fireman's fair, where the community mingles and Rob watches his past and future collide. Though solidly anchored in the realities of existence, the narrative offers the possibilities of happiness and hope. Readers' hearts will soar. 50,000 first printing; major ad/promo;author tour. (May) .

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In the aftermath of a hurricane which hits his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, Rob Wyatt, a 32-year-old lawyer who has just recently exchanged his Alfa Romeo for a Toyota and his upscale apartment for a blue-collar island bungalow, decides to completely throw caution to the wind by quitting his job. With no prospects but freedom, he delves into his life and relationships in a search for meaning. This is a story of reassessment and discovery. Humphreys's Dreams of Sleep (LJ 3/15/84) won the 1985 PEN/Hemingway Award for best first novel; if there were a similar award for best third novel, this work would be a contender. The writing superbly evokes place and character. Recommended for anyone old enough to have experienced love and its capacity to generate feelings of loss, confusion, and hope.-- Sheila Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, D.C.

Library Journal

YA-- The hurricane that devastated much of Charleston and its neighboring islands precipitates the action of this novel. The destruction it left becomes a metaphor for the chaos in the lives of Rob Wyatt, a 32-year-old lawyer who quits his job, and his friends and family who reside on the Isle of Palms. Trying to make sense of the storm's aftermath, all experience isolation and misunderstanding. For much of the novel, Rob attempts to resolve his obsession with Louise Camden, who is married to his former boss. High school students might experience difficulty relating to a male adult in the throes of a midlife crisis; Rob drifts through much of the novel, acting without reason. However, the introduction of Billie, an innocent waif who is at once needier and wiser than Rob, should engage the attention and sympathy of YAs. The final scene, which takes place the day of the annual Fireman's Fair when all of the islanders work together, convinces readers of the restorative power of love. While this might not have the appeal of the author's Rich in Love (1987) and Dreams of Sleep (1985, both Penguin), it is refreshing to be able to recommend a novel with such an an upbeat, satisfying ending. --Barbette Timperlake, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA

School Library Journal