|
The Bible Salesman: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Clyde Edgerton
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $23.99
Buy New: $13.09
You Save: $10.90 (45%)
New (44) Used (12) Collectible (1) from $12.90
Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 50439
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 031611751X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780316117517
ASIN: 031611751X
Publication Date: August 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Preston Clearwater has been a criminal since stealing two chain saws and 1600 pairs of aviator sunglasses from the Army during the Second World War. Back on the road in post-war st1:State w:st="on"st1:place w:st="on"North Carolina/st1:place/st1:State, a member of a car-theft ring, he picks up hitch-hiking Henry Dampier, an innocent nineteen-year-old Bible salesman. st1:City w:st="on"Clearwater/st1:City immediately recognizes Henry as just the associate he needs--one who will believe st1:City w:st="on"Clearwater/st1:City is working as an F.B.I. spy; one who will drive the cars st1:City w:st="on"Clearwater/st1:City steals as st1:City w:st="on"st1:place w:st="on"Clearwater/st1:place/st1:City follows along in another car at a safe distance. Henry joyfully sees a chance to lead a dual life as Bible salesman and a G-man.BRDuring his hilarious and scary adventures we learn of Henry's fundamentalist youth, an upbringing that doesn't prepare him for his new life. As he falls in love and questions his religious training, Henry begins to see he's being used--that the fun and games are over, that he is on his own in a way he never imagined.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 Fun read, light on complexity January 6, 2009
Alan F (Florida)
This was an interesting book, heavy on Christian language and implied symbolism. The book looses steam in that no character seems to share the moral compass of the books central theme. I hoped for more layers, and richer characters. br /Bottom line: This is a fun, quick read, but the deeper Christian commentary the theme and language promises doesn't seem to be there.
 An entertaining look into the past January 2, 2009
RebeccasReads.com (Austin, Texas)
Reviewed by Sandie Kirkland for RebeccasReads (12/08) br / br / br /Henry Dampier can't believe his luck. Here he was, meandering along selling Bibles in the rural South, and he meets an honest-to-God FBI man. More astonishing, this FBI agent, Preston Clearwater, wants Henry to work with him, taking down a stolen car ring. All Henry has to do is drive the stolen cars from one point to the next, do everything Clearwater asks without question, and never tell anyone what he is doing. Henry can't believe his luck. br / br /As the book progresses, Edgerton fills in Henry's prior life. His father was killed when Henry was a baby, and his mother left him and his sister with relatives. He grew up surrounded with family: Aunt Dorie, Uncle Jack, Uncle Samuel, his cousin Carson and sister Catherine. Family and religion shaped his life. As he moves around the South, Henry meets new people. Marleen is his first serious love, and the Finley sisters welcome him into their home. br / br /But, all is not well. In his new life with Clearwater, Henry starts to realize all is not quite right. There are strange men who seem unlikely to work for the government, night trips that can't be mentioned, and soon the work progresses from taking cars to taking safes from houses. Along the way, Henry keeps his sweetness but starts to question and put hints together. The book builds to a revelation of murder and resolution. br / br /Edgerton is a master at portraying Southern life. This book illustrates life in the South in the time period from the 1930's to the late 1950's, that last generation before television, electricity and cars became commonplace. Family and religion made up a large part of most people's lives. People lived close to the land, growing gardens, hunting and fishing. Moral codes were rigorous and enforcement was a community affair, where your neighbor was as likely to correct a child as the parents. br / br /The other strength of the book is character development. If the reader is from the South, they immediately recognize the characters, as they grew up with people who were just like the ones Edgerton describes. The description of food, entertainment, religious beliefs and attitudes towards life are familiar, and the book feels like coming home and slipping on comfortable clothes. This book is recommended for those looking for reading entertainment and a fond look back to another time. br /
Adorable, witty, amusing, charming, dark and light...TBS has it all! December 12, 2008
hawthorne wood (santa fe, new mexico)
I am currently reading this book, and I don't care where it leads me. I'm totally beguiled. Some literary works are so beautiful, it's almost impossible to put your finger on why you've fallen in love with them. I just read "Netherland," by Joseph O'Neill, and it had a similar effect on me. Reading "The Bible Salesman" is like looking into a glass lake and now and then catching a thrashing drama just beneath the surface. You are so mesmerized by the charm of the scene that you can't look away even when you catch sight of dark and the violent events that appear suddenly, shocking you. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Edgerton fans will be disappointed, others may not November 19, 2008
Frayed Edges
This is not to say that this is a poorly written book, or that the story is not interesting. It is to say that fans that have followed this writer know that he is capable of delivering so much more. "The Bible Salesman" hardly holds a candle to "Raney" and "Walk across Egypt." The submersion effect in "The Bible Salesman" is minimal coming off more like a quaint and cute tale that we observe from afar rather than being on the front row up close to the action. br / br /This book reminded me of John Grisham's "Bleachers." Perhaps this was a story that the author always wanted to tell, but probably should have shelved it in favor of something more dynamic and stirring. Yet knowing that his publisher would publish it anyway, went ahead and wrote it. Good for the author, good for the publisher, not so good for devoted fans. br / br /Even the jacket hype put me off. "The 'burial tuck' alone should make 'The Bible Salesman' a classic." The dead cat with a dead snake in its mouth and the subsequent action was at best amusing, and far from anything that will ever be deemed "classic." Also, I found Henry Dampier's final act in the book totally unbelievable and completely out of character, which may have been only used as a convention by the author to set up the reaction of the cops not buying Henry's story; to what, make it funny? br / br /I'd say that if the reader really wants to get inside the seamy underbelly of the violent South, onto those dark back roads that no one travels at night, where unspeakable horrors abound, read something like Robert Paul Blumenstein's "Flirtin' with Jesus." That book is scary, not "The Bible Salesman." I will certainly read Edgerton's next book, and even the one after that. Edgerton is a great writer; however, "The Bible Salesman" is not a great book. br /
Pretty Good, I Guess November 3, 2008
David K. Chivers (Wilbraham, MA USA)
A good book, nicely written. But it lacks any real punch. The plot is a nieve young semi-con artist is conned by a real criminal - but it all turns out well in the end. The characters are drawn well initially, but fail to be developed or deeply explored. No reason not to read it, but not one I'd recomend as a "must read" either.
|
|
|
| |
