In Zanesville

One of my Facebook pals is a school librarian, so her postings are pithier than some I could mention, that is, she doesn't share glorified chain letters, urban legends masquerading as real events, nor quotes attributed to the wrong people. A couple of months ago, she posted a link to a Publishers' W......more

I'll say this about that. Beautiful dysfunction. Reminded me of Lynda Barry. I loved it.......more

I love this novel with my whole heart and teach it in class every chance I get. Beard is a master of tension, of language, of weirdness, of getting to the heart of what really matters to humans. I come back to this novel again and again for inspiration in my own writing. It's not just a book about g......more

I can understand why someone may not like this book, as it was more scenes in a life of a young teenager in the 1970s than a traditional novel, but I for one enjoyed it very much. Though cultural touchstones firmly establish a time and date, this book could have taken place at any point before the In......more

Jo Ann Beard writes beautifuly and her observations about family dynamics and being a teenager are impeccable. In Zanesville: A Novel is a must read for a few of the lines alone. She describes the oldest son (and terror) of her last babysitting job as follows: "We've always thought of Derek as a lar......more