Novel

Set in the town of Gruel, South Carolina, this first novel by George Singleton, master of the comic short story, is the tale of a young man named Novel (his brother's name is James; his sister's is Joyce), a professional snake handler who stumbles across strange doings while he sits in a motel room writing his autobiography. As he struggles to recount his life story, he uncovers-and finds himself starring in-a decades-old town secret, one that can blow him and his fellow citizens sky-high. Funny as only George Singleton can be, full of Southern mischief and wit, Novel is a crazed and crazy fictional whirlwind of drinking, motel-living, art-forgery-committing, pool-playing redneck charm.
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PRAISE FOR THE HALF-MAMMALS OF DIXIE

"Singleton's relentlessly offbeat stories are a miasma of flea markets, palm readers, bowling alleys, and alligators, offering a disturb-ingly askew-at times, downright surreal-vision of the South." -ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"Sly, intelligent, hilarious."-THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER