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Art in America: A Novel
by
Ron McLarty
A funny and heartwarming novel about a down-on-his-luck writer who finally finds success and love
Steven Kearney is a bumbling, overweight writer who has produced thousands of pages of novels, plays, and poemsnot a single one of which has ever been published. After being thrown out of his Manhattan apartment, Kearney is offered a position as playwright-in-residence for th...more
Steven Kearney is a bumbling, overweight writer who has produced thousands of pages of novels, plays, and poemsnot a single one of which has ever been published. After being thrown out of his Manhattan apartment, Kearney is offered a position as playwright-in-residence for th...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
July 3rd 2008
by Viking Adult
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I thoroughly enjoyed this new book by Ron McLarty. He creates wonderful characters, and in the end we rejoice in their triumphs. Artists and sheriffs, environmentalists and landowners, strong women and young punks, and in the middle of them all is playwright Steven Kearney, a stranger to this town whose work brings everyone together in a colossal outdoor theatre event. I definitely recommend it!
My favorite quote:
What is it, Steven Kearney wondered as they crawled under the c...more
My favorite quote:
What is it, Steven Kearney wondered as they crawled under the c...more
I had listened to two audioooks by this author and really liked both. The author narrated the books himself, and I thought he had a very pleasing voice and reading style. I had wondered if that made me enjoy the books more than if I had read them myself. After reading this book for myself, I can say that I still really enjoyed it, even if it might have been slightly more enjoyable having the author read it to me.
The book starts with the quirky lead character, un-produced playwrite...more
The book starts with the quirky lead character, un-produced playwrite...more
Steve Kearney is not a success in the traditional sense of the word. He has written many plays and books and poetry but nothing has been published. His live-in girlfriend moved out and cleaned out his bank account too, so he is staying with a friend, a long term friend who loves theater and happens to be lesbian.
Then out of the blue, Steve gets an invitation to be playwright in residence in Creedemore, Colorado and write a play about the history of the town. The local fine historical socie...more
Then out of the blue, Steve gets an invitation to be playwright in residence in Creedemore, Colorado and write a play about the history of the town. The local fine historical socie...more
I REALLY like Ron McLarty's work. This story is truly amazing. A struggling writer finally gets a break, to write a pageant play to help a mining town in Colorado celebrate its history and diversity, but it requires his leaving the homeless existence that has devolved to him in New York City. The characters are all interestingly portrayed, the dialog is always unfailingly human, and McLarty is not a ham-fisted plot manipulator by any means. This book is even better than his first--The Memory of ...more
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Linda Campbell Franklin
added it
omg i loved this. it's funny, sprawling but not too big (322pp), There's an
odd huge collection of characters are so well-drawn that you visualize all of them easily. Old ladies, college girls, a tiny skinny old man in his 90s, a 48 year old man (protag) who writes writes writes. Takes place mostly in Colorado. I would love to see a movie of it, with Philip Seymour Hoffmann, Isabella Rossellini, and if we could go back in time that funny little old lady from golden girls. It's a great r...more
odd huge collection of characters are so well-drawn that you visualize all of them easily. Old ladies, college girls, a tiny skinny old man in his 90s, a 48 year old man (protag) who writes writes writes. Takes place mostly in Colorado. I would love to see a movie of it, with Philip Seymour Hoffmann, Isabella Rossellini, and if we could go back in time that funny little old lady from golden girls. It's a great r...more
Can Ron McLarty hit anything but home runs? Wow, what a story! This novel is full of unique, interesting, and complicated characters (including a very colorful dead one) thrown together in a compelling plot that slows only at the page turns, and McLarty's wonderful descriptions of the Colorado landscape are a nice fringe benefit. I felt like these were real people whom I knew and (for the most part) liked, and I was easily able to visualize the events as they took place in one of the most bea...more
A middle-aged failed writer has hit bottom. Serendipitously, he gets a letter from someone in a small Colorado town who wants him to write and produce a pageant for an upcoming civic celebration to smooth over area conflicts over land rights. Having nothing better to do, he takes the job. The reader expects him and everyone else to be caricatures and stereotypes, but they are not. The writer finds confidence, acceptance, and love, the townspeople are sincere and kind, and the only caricatures ar...more
My third McLarty book. WOW! I would caution those who cannot go to sleep without knowing what happens in a story, to start reading this early in the morning. McLarty once again takes someone from the East Coast out west. He weaves a magnificent story with the Rockies as a backdrop. His rescue of the lead character is magnificent. How can a hero still be a hero with all of their mental handicaps? Read the book to find that answer. This book is definitely in my top ten reads! The title is deceivin...more
I started this book once before and put in down because of the great amount of swearing. This time I stuck with it and got pass to find a sweet and funny sentimental story. The nominal hero is a writer who hasn't never been published who is hired by the Historical Society of a small town out West
to write and produce a play presenting the town's history. But several characters, among them the Sherrif and a Rancher, are fully developedand their story line was as important to me as that of th...more
to write and produce a play presenting the town's history. But several characters, among them the Sherrif and a Rancher, are fully developedand their story line was as important to me as that of th...more
Very entertaining. Steven Kearney has written thousands of pages of poetry, short stories and some of the longest novels in the history of the form. None of them were published. So, when the small town of Creedemore, CO asks him to write a play for their historical society's extravaganza, he moves from New York to Colorado.
Unfortunately, his arrival coincides with regional political/environmental upheaval and while he struggles with his own doubts about his artistic abilities, he meets a w...more
Unfortunately, his arrival coincides with regional political/environmental upheaval and while he struggles with his own doubts about his artistic abilities, he meets a w...more
This book peeks inside the mind of the individual that travels in a pack and questions what happens when one attempts to think for themselves as opposed to allowing themselves to be sucked into the "groupthink". It is a wonderful adventure watching the characters fall into the role of their lives which are both private and public; the use of a civic play was a wonderful vehicle to use to arrive there. Laugh out loud funny, especially the river rafting episode!
A wonderful, fun to read story that begins in New York City and moves to Creedmore Colorado. The tale surrounds Steven - in his late 40s - writes plays, essays, novels and has never been published. He supports him self in construction. His work comes to the attention of the historical society of Creedmore and they offer him a salary and a room to write a play about their town. When he gets there, all hell breaks out - not from anything he has done. He finds love, purpose and lots of adventu...more
An unpublished author finds himself homeless when his girlfriend kicks him out. He ends up accepting a job in Creedmore, Colorado writing the town's history into a play. Steven Kearney, the playwright, meets the characters who inhabit and fight over what is best for Creedmore. I like McLarty's storytelling ability, but wish he would use less profanity.
So, mostly I gave this 5 stars because it was set in fictional (but real if you've ever been there) Creede, Colorado, where I've been going since I was a kid with my family. The story was great too though. The characters were so real and funny . . . I especially loved all the cowboys! They were hilarious!
this book is laugh out loud funny. anyone who had been in a play, hung a piece of art in a gallery, or volunteered for any community art gatherings will recognize characters in this book. i reminded me of "waiting for guffman".
it got a little long in the middle, but overall it remained entertaining and funny.
it got a little long in the middle, but overall it remained entertaining and funny.
Sections of this book were thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking. Its goal seemed to be to look at how art (in different forms) can influence the average american or reflect the average american's experience.
While reading the less dynamic portions of the novel, it's difficult not to imagine how much more developed some of the characters and stories may be in the author's mind than how they appeared on the pages of his book. He obviously loves these characters, and it appeared that ...more
While reading the less dynamic portions of the novel, it's difficult not to imagine how much more developed some of the characters and stories may be in the author's mind than how they appeared on the pages of his book. He obviously loves these characters, and it appeared that ...more
I love Ron McLarty, and I enjoyed this book, but as some other reviewers mentioned, the amount of profanity was, I thought, excessive, and I was getting VERY tired of one particular character (the dead one) to the point that several times I really wanted to just stop listening (I listened to the audio book version). It made me feel very frustrated.
Ron McLarty does a great job of reading his own work, and I love the "every man" characters that he creates. I just think this...more
Ron McLarty does a great job of reading his own work, and I love the "every man" characters that he creates. I just think this...more
This is my first foray into the writing of Ron McLarty, and I must say that I loved the world he created. Most of the action takes place in the mythical town of Creedemore, Colorado. This novel's main themes are the rejuvenating effects of art...and love. It also talks about the clash between the old ways and the new ways, of outsiders and insiders, of small town realities and big city ideals. McLarty's characters, and there are a lot them, are for the most part fully realized. There are a handf...more
Love the rhythm in McLarty's writing. You can literally feel the pace similarities between this and his Memory of Running. A true community of characters here, and I found myself rooting for nearly everyone.
Sometimes I get the feeling that an author really enjoys the world he created, and wants to keep hanging out in it. This was one of those times. The book has a lot of secondary characters and subplots, but while all of them are lively, I started to feel like some were a little...indulgent. Like maybe they should have been cut. Didn't stop me loving the whole book, though.
The story is basically a comedy, with fistfights, cowboys, mid life crises, spiritual crises, land-use batt...more
This was a funny and entertaining read. Not my usual but it was full of comic relief. Kind of like the movie Fargo. So ridiculous that i would love too see it as a movie.
Roberta
added it
Actually listened to as an eaudiobook. Very quirky story. I enjoyed the quirky part, but the constant repetition of 2 bits of profanity started to grate on my nerves.
Kind of a manic tale. I am proud of myself for finishing it. Normally I would have returned a book I wasn't enjoying tot he library unfinished.
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It had a lot of characteristics of what I guess I would call American post-modernism. But the plot was entertaining and all came together in an extremely satisfying way.
We listened to Ron's audio version (for the second time). Love his words and his voice ...
Art in America by Ron McLarty follows unpublished author, Steven Kearney, from New York City to the wild West when he is hired by the Creedmore, Colorado, Historical Society to write a play celebrating the town’s history. Meanwhile, a land-rights dispute erupts, pitting cowboys against libertarians and bringing out the worst behavior, as well as the comic aspects, in both groups. Another former Easterner, Sheriff Petey Myers, has to keep the peace off-stage, while Stephen and friends struggle to...more
Loved it.. funny smart interesting characters.
Stephen King recommended author.
Not a good novel, sadly.
Perhaps that he is a college contemporary at Rhode Island College or simply that his sense of humor is a bit off the wall as is the case with many of us herein RI, but I find his books to be extremely humorous and entertaining. This unlike his other two works is not based in Rhode Island, but very entertaining. Some of his characters can be a bit absurd but if you think hard enough you know someone not too dissimilar.
I like his work and I think it is worth the read. Not an overwhelm...more
I like his work and I think it is worth the read. Not an overwhelm...more
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A native of East Providence, RI—Ron McLarty is a veteran actor, accomplished playwright, prolific audiobook narrator and acclaimed novelist.
McLarty is also noted for his body of work as one of the country’s leading audiobook narrators having done over 100 titles including the narration of books authored by Stephen King, Danielle Steel, Richard Russo, Elmore Leonard, Ed McBain, David Ba...more
More about Ron McLarty...
McLarty is also noted for his body of work as one of the country’s leading audiobook narrators having done over 100 titles including the narration of books authored by Stephen King, Danielle Steel, Richard Russo, Elmore Leonard, Ed McBain, David Ba...more
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