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The School of Beauty and Charm - Melanie Sumner
The School of Beauty and Charm
by: (author)
This is the story of the Peppers family of Counterpoint, Georgia. Henry and Florida Peppers are pertinacious Baptist parents whose dearest wishes are to keep their asthmatic son Roderick alive and their smart-ass daughter Louise from going to hell. Louise, the little hellion, tells the story. And... show more
This is the story of the Peppers family of Counterpoint, Georgia. Henry and Florida Peppers are pertinacious Baptist parents whose dearest wishes are to keep their asthmatic son Roderick alive and their smart-ass daughter Louise from going to hell. Louise, the little hellion, tells the story. And what a story it is, about how ponderous Henry, hysterical Florida, and hell-bent-for-rebellion Louise, awash in grief after Roderick's death at fifteen, go on living. Steady-at-the-helm, Henry buries himself in his work managing Southern Board, the local cardboard factory. Flamboyant Florida, with a fine-honed knack for losing her cool, redecorates their custom-built house, the Aerie, and takes up painting by numbers. Louise indulges her addictions: at nine, she discovers vanilla extract. After Roderick dies, she adds liquor, food, sex (at sixteen, she seduces a Southern Board laborer), and out-and-out danger, finally, at eighteen running off to join the circus (a carnival, actually). Louise gets to be the clown. THE SCHOOL OF BEAUTY AND CHARM is a daring novel that walks a fine line between high comedy and real tragedy. But at heart, it is a moving portrait of a father and mother, two good-hearted people doing everything wrong to win back their daughter.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9781565122864 (1565122860)
ASIN: 1565122860
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Pages no: 320
Edition language: English
Category:
Fiction
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Community Reviews
Domaris' Dreamings
Domaris' Dreamings rated it
3.0 The School of Beauty and Charm
A fun, coming of age type of story, but including a traveling circus.
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