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Shirley Wins
This is a novel of not giving up and not giving in. It's a story about punching the world back in the arm. Shirley's a grandmother who dreams of building the world's most powerful pumpkin-launching cannon. At her side is Rachel, her bright and quiet granddaughter, a budding geneticist electrified by punk rock. Shirley's interest in physics is re-ignited one day in a supermarket parking lot. Through the elating dance of discovery, the painful crunch of broken bones, and the shame of failed experiments, she vaults her head down the loaded barrel of life's biggest consequences while carefully calculating a brand new trajectory for herself.
- GenresFiction
188 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2006
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 16, 2016
God dammit, THIS is how you write female characters. This is how you write characters period. I have to admit I underestimated this book, it sat on my shelf for a while until I got to it, and even in the first chapter or so I was skeptical. But just like Shirley and her granddaughter Rachel, this book took my expectations and turned them on their head. GOD DAMN.
Shirley and Rachel may appear ordinary to everyone else in their town, but little does everyone realize that they are unrecognized geniuses. Shirley, without formal education, teaches herself complex physics, all while having a day job and a knitting circle. And Rachel might be one of the few teenage female characters I've read who's life doesn't revolve around some love crush. Instead, she cultivates her genius in plant genetics fueled by a wholeheated love of punk rock. How rad is that?
These characters are so great to read because their smart, motivated, independent, but also because they are human. Even if their intelligence/determination makes them seem superhuman sometimes, there are plenty of setbacks and self-doubts that make the reader connect with the character so much more than some stoic golem careening through a plot line. Their emotions don't dictate them, but at the same time they are there for all to see.
It took me a while to connect the dots as to how Taylor, an editor of a punk rock magazine, would write a story about a Grandma & a teenager entering a pumpkin launching competition would connect to his experiences. Then it hit me: this is a book about the spirit of DIY, of bucking expectations, of doing exactly what you want to do no matter what it takes, and most importatly, not compromising who you are in order to do it. What could be more punk rock than that?
Shirley and Rachel may appear ordinary to everyone else in their town, but little does everyone realize that they are unrecognized geniuses. Shirley, without formal education, teaches herself complex physics, all while having a day job and a knitting circle. And Rachel might be one of the few teenage female characters I've read who's life doesn't revolve around some love crush. Instead, she cultivates her genius in plant genetics fueled by a wholeheated love of punk rock. How rad is that?
These characters are so great to read because their smart, motivated, independent, but also because they are human. Even if their intelligence/determination makes them seem superhuman sometimes, there are plenty of setbacks and self-doubts that make the reader connect with the character so much more than some stoic golem careening through a plot line. Their emotions don't dictate them, but at the same time they are there for all to see.
It took me a while to connect the dots as to how Taylor, an editor of a punk rock magazine, would write a story about a Grandma & a teenager entering a pumpkin launching competition would connect to his experiences. Then it hit me: this is a book about the spirit of DIY, of bucking expectations, of doing exactly what you want to do no matter what it takes, and most importatly, not compromising who you are in order to do it. What could be more punk rock than that?
May 9, 2015
Passion For Pumpkin Tossing
This book is really about rediscovering passion later in life and following that passion wherever it takes you. I'm not talking about romantic passion. I'm talking about passion for doing something that you're into. In the case of Shirley, a grandmother, it is passion for physics and engineering and using them to create the greatest pumpkin tossing machine she can. Taylor does a great job of creating tension as Shirley often proves to be her own worst enemy, moving forward too quickly or thoughtlessly and putting herself or her granddaughter in danger with intense machinery. But she sees the project through and the ending is triumphant. A new one from Taylor is long overdue!
This book is really about rediscovering passion later in life and following that passion wherever it takes you. I'm not talking about romantic passion. I'm talking about passion for doing something that you're into. In the case of Shirley, a grandmother, it is passion for physics and engineering and using them to create the greatest pumpkin tossing machine she can. Taylor does a great job of creating tension as Shirley often proves to be her own worst enemy, moving forward too quickly or thoughtlessly and putting herself or her granddaughter in danger with intense machinery. But she sees the project through and the ending is triumphant. A new one from Taylor is long overdue!
January 18, 2018
I could describe the plot, tell you about the characters, and reflect on the thought-provoking themes woven throughout the book, but none of that would even come close to conveying how great a novel this is and how much I love it. Top notch.
November 4, 2013
Given that the title tells us the ending (Shirley wins a local pumpkin-launching contest after months of trial-and-error catapult-making), it seems fair to say this isn't a plot-oriented book. Rather, it's about the process--of birthing, making, laboring, engineering your thing (whether it's art or science) into existence. Shirley is a quiet sixty-year-old with a government job and a granddaughter she's raised from birth. It's nice to see such an uncommon protagonist, and Taylor clearly has a lot of love for her, even though he drops bowling balls and cans of paint on her. He describes her work in sharp, artful detail that reminds me of Ron Carlson and makes me think Taylor has built a thing or two in his time. The book will appeal to the mechanically minded and to those mystified by those little plastic anchors that come with Ikea shelves (guess which category I fall into). The novel illuminates the simple and complex pleasures of hands-on tasks and problem-solving like few others I've read. I also enjoyed the flashbacks to other parts of Shriley's life, and could have used a few more, in addition to more conflict--I wondered if Taylor's love for Shirley also made him a bit too protective of her. But this is one of those novels whose kindness and elegant language I find staying with me well after finishing it.
June 4, 2014
Why has this not been made into a movie yet?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews