Mustang Sally: A Novel

by Edward Allen

A novel of sex, gambling, and higher education. Packard Schmidt is an appealing but seedy timeserver in the English department of a third-rate midwestern college. When his semester teaching the dismally undermotivated is done, Pack dashes off to Vegas--his favorite place on earth. There he runs into an ex-student-turned-call-girl, and his world falls apart. Author Edward Allen is an avid fan of game shows and casinos and the author of Straight Through the Night .

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

This is Edward^^^Allen, where ^=space.

Reviews

[Cliff Morrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character is utterly stupid and utterly unsympathetic in this witless take on "Lolita," reset amid early 1990s political correctness. Edward Allen's approach might have gotten by in a short story, but his long-winded style drags the novel out so that its hollowness is agonizingly apparent.

[Bill Wenzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that starts out strong, with an easy narrative and really seems to have promise. But as I continued to read, it took a slow turn towards the absurd. It was an entertaining read but it reminded me of a sitcom.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of a pair of novels by my college English professor. This one might be autobiographical, but I really, really hope not. It was rather hard to stomach, and left me feeling depressed. But I couldn't put it down.

[Velvet Sellin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre at best..

[Denise Du Vernay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several years ago and revisited it recently. I had forgotten how well Allen develops Pack and makes him sympathetic and his rationale somehow make sense. This book could have been called "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Packard Schmidt."

As a former English major, I felt some indignation at Pack's disdain for the English major girls, with their dull hair and boring clothes (as he prefers the indifferent students, the sorority girls in their t-shirts or fur jackets).

With as over-the-top and dramatic the climax is, it is still so remarkably well-crafted and paced that it almost seems believable.

I saw the movie adaptation (with Julian Sands and Jim Belushi) called Easy Six, and it's good but darker somehow.

[Jim Snaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written by a prof at my uni. Some of the details are a bit scary as I read this while I was taking his class. He notes items about students, preceptions and facinations but generally takes you on an easy ride throughout the novel.

[Martha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a couple hundred pages of lame held together with a sticky binding of suck.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes English profs. seem human and funny. No small achievement.