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The Genius of Desire: A Novel
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Bibliographic Detail
Publisher
Ballantine Books
Publication date
June 1, 1994
Binding
Paperback
Edition
Reprint
Book category
Adult Fiction
ISBN-13
9780345388728
ISBN-10
0345388720
Dimensions
0.75 by 5 by 8 in.
Weight
0.50 lbs.
Availability§
Out of Print
Original list price
$10.00
§As reported by publisher
Summaries and Reviews
Amazon.com description: Product Description: "GENTLE AND FUNNY...From the first chapter...to the very touching ending, The Genius Of Desire is a good story worth telling."
--San Francisco Chronicle
Michael Bellman is not your average little boy. He speaks to plates, banisters, and other household objects (preferring them to people). He frequently confesses to sins he never committed (like adultery). And he's hopelessly drawn to the romantic notion of a secret, double life.
Michael spends summers in Monsalvat, Michigan, coming of age in a loving tangle of great aunts, great uncles, cousins once-removed (but ever-present), and one tough-looking, silently scary grandmother. The Kaisers are a wild, highly eccentric bunch: Great Uncle Jimmy speaks to his dead wife during meals and proudly proclaims himself the Fattest Man in the World; Cousin Anne torments and taunts Michael beyond endurance; reckless Cousin Tommy secretly smokes cigars and can't wait to "kick butt in 'Nam"--and Michael watches every magical move he makes.
A few years and one driver's license later, as family alliances change and long-silent desires surface, Michael begins to understand his attraction to the double life because he's living one--at roadside rest stops, in library washrooms and public parks. Coming out is the first step, coming to terms is the next....
"[A] DEEPLY FELT FIRST NOVEL of childhood and adolescence...by a cool and philosophical young writer."
--Publishers Weekly
"WONDERFULLY INTELLIGENT...An auspicious debut: wise, funny, and courageous."
--Charles Baxter, Author of Shadow Play
--San Francisco Chronicle
Michael Bellman is not your average little boy. He speaks to plates, banisters, and other household objects (preferring them to people). He frequently confesses to sins he never committed (like adultery). And he's hopelessly drawn to the romantic notion of a secret, double life.
Michael spends summers in Monsalvat, Michigan, coming of age in a loving tangle of great aunts, great uncles, cousins once-removed (but ever-present), and one tough-looking, silently scary grandmother. The Kaisers are a wild, highly eccentric bunch: Great Uncle Jimmy speaks to his dead wife during meals and proudly proclaims himself the Fattest Man in the World; Cousin Anne torments and taunts Michael beyond endurance; reckless Cousin Tommy secretly smokes cigars and can't wait to "kick butt in 'Nam"--and Michael watches every magical move he makes.
A few years and one driver's license later, as family alliances change and long-silent desires surface, Michael begins to understand his attraction to the double life because he's living one--at roadside rest stops, in library washrooms and public parks. Coming out is the first step, coming to terms is the next....
"[A] DEEPLY FELT FIRST NOVEL of childhood and adolescence...by a cool and philosophical young writer."
--Publishers Weekly
"WONDERFULLY INTELLIGENT...An auspicious debut: wise, funny, and courageous."
--Charles Baxter, Author of Shadow Play
Editions
Hardcover
from Ballantine Books (June 1, 1993)
9780345383341 | details & prices | 5.50 × 8.25 × 1.25 in. | 0.85 lbs | List price $17.00
About: Spending the summer in Monsalvat, Michigan, with the wild and eccentric Kaiser family, young Michael Bellman confesses sins he has never committed and imagines a secret wild self that could break free of convention
About: Spending the summer in Monsalvat, Michigan, with the wild and eccentric Kaiser family, young Michael Bellman confesses sins he has never committed and imagines a secret wild self that could break free of convention
Paperback
The price comparison is for this edition
Reprint edition from Ballantine Books (June 1, 1994)
9780345388728 | details & prices | 5.00 × 8.00 × 0.75 in. | 0.50 lbs | List price $10.00
About: "GENTLE AND FUNNY.
About: "GENTLE AND FUNNY.
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