The author of Population: 485 returns, delivering a truckload of humor, heart, and . . . gardening tips? Think Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, complete with stock cars, sexy vegetables, and a laugh track.
"All I wanted to do was fix my old pickup truck," says Michael Perry. "That, and plant my garden. Then I met this woman. . . ." Truck: A Love Story recounts a year in which Perry struggles to grow his own food ("Seed catalogs are responsible for more unfulfilled fantasies than Enron and Penthouse combined"), live peaceably with his neighbors (one test-fires his black powder rifle in the alley; another's best Sunday shirt reads 100 PERCENT WHUP-ASS), and sort out his love life. But along the way, he sets his hair on fire, is attacked by wild turkeys, takes a date to the fire department chicken dinner, and proposes marriage to a woman in New Orleans. As with Population: 485, much of the spirit of Truck: A Love Story may be found in the characters Perry meets: a one-eyed land surveyor, a paraplegic biker who rigs a sidecar so that his quadriplegic pal can ride along, a bartender who refuses to sell light beer, an enchanting woman who never existed, and half the staff of National Public Radio.
By turns hilarious and heartfelt, a tale that begins on a pile of sheep manure, detours to the Whitney Museum of American Art, and returns to the deer-hunting swamps of northern Wisconsin, Truck: A Love Story becomes a testament to the surprising and unintended consequences of love. 1006
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - This is not a novel
I found this book in a small bookstore in Wisc. with a sticker that said "Staff Pick." I bought it thinking it would be a novel, with a plot, conflict, character development, and so forth. In fact it is ... Read More
Rating: - Truck: A Love Story
This book was fun. I laughed out loud at some of the situations and/or verbage. The author has the ability to laugh at himself, give credit where it is due, and make the best of most situations. Thumbs ... Read More
Rating: - Humor and revelation
Book was humorous on one level. However, it contained deeper truths about ouselves and our world than we sometimes like to admit. I heard Mr. Perry speak and he has some gritty and resourceful insights on ... Read More
Rating: - the natural philosopher's handbook
I could go on and on about this book, but let's let the man speak for himself. "The amateur study of philosophy," Perry writes, "is like taking a few laps with a NASCAR driver. You're not qualified to do ... Read More
Rating: - A sweet, kind tale with deeper meanings
"Truck: a Love Story" is a sweet and simple tale, filled with rich observations of life in a small rural town, told by the sort of man you always hoped would marry your sister. Perry comes across as kind and ... Read More
- This is not a novel
- Humor and revelation