{"product_id":"decline-of-the-lawrence-welk-empire-isbn-9780976631118","title":"Decline of the Lawrence Welk Empire","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this follow-up to \u003ci\u003eGod Clobbers Us\u003c\/i\u003e All, \"it’s impossible not to be charmed by Edgar Donahoe (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e),\" and he’s back for another misguided adventure\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Edgar is expelled from college for drunkenly bellowing expletives from a dorm window at 3:00 am, he hitchhikes to Colorado and trains as a cook. A postcard arrives from Edgar’s college buddy, Mountain Moses, inviting him to a Caribbean island. Once there Edgar cooks at the local tourist resort and falls in love with Mountain’s girl, Kate. He becomes embroiled in a love triangle and his troubles multiply as he is stalked by murderous island native Chollie Legion. Even Cinnamon Jim, the medicine man, is no help. Ultimately it takes a hurricane to blow Edgar out of this mess.\"No matter if you didn’t catch the first book. Or if fiction about young guys who drink themselves pie-eyed every night, and lust after each other’s girlfriends is not your favorite genre. Ballantine’s genial, reckless narrator is part Huck Finn, part Hunter S. Thompson. And in a few pages he’s charming you, more than any 'pot-smoking, card-playing, music-loving, late night party hound' really should.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Seattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Poe Ballantine, in this sequel to \u003ci\u003eGod Clobbers Us All\u003c\/i\u003e, reveals that he is a writer with a keen ear and a blistering wit . . . it’s a prime opportunity to observe a writer’s joyful wallow in the decadence of words.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Austin Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Ballantine’s second novel is . . . memorable . . . funny and smart, and rarely boring.\" —\u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eDecline of the Lawrence Welk Empire\u003c\/i\u003e has the same amped tone and subtropical setting as Hunter S. Thompson’s \u003ci\u003eThe Rum Diary\u003c\/i\u003e but less of the gonzo arrogance and more of that good ol’ American angst. Fans will remember Edgar from Ballantine’s first novel, \u003ci\u003eGod Clobbers Us All\u003c\/i\u003e, and will again be rewarded with the self-effacing character also visible in his inimitable essays in \u003ci\u003eThe Sun\u003c\/i\u003e magazine. The prose is poised on the brink of perfection, and the plot twists into an unexpected yet perfect conclusion that makes scotch and roadkill seem almost palatable.\" \u003ci\u003e—San Francisco Bay Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It’s a downmarket version of Ben Kunkel’s \u003ci\u003eIndecision\u003c\/i\u003e, with less surety but real vibrancy.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This second novel from Ballantine initially conjures images of \u003ci\u003eLord of the Flies\u003c\/i\u003e, but then you would have to add about ten years to the protagonists’ ages and make them sex-crazed, gold-seeking alcoholics.\" —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Edgar’s supersize pal Mountain is the best of the author’s creations: He possesses a merry and absurd sweetness . . . combined with a body mass that can block out the sun.\" —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003ePOE BALLANTINE\u003c\/b\u003e currently lives in Chadron, Nebraska. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Sun\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eKenyon Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Coal City Review\u003c\/i\u003e. In addition to garnering numerous Pushcart and O. Henry nominations, Mr. Ballantine's work has been included in the anthologies \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Short Stories 1998\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Essays 2006\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"Hawthorne Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48532137246949,"sku":"NP9780976631118","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780976631118.jpg?v=1773182790","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/decline-of-the-lawrence-welk-empire-isbn-9780976631118","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}