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Title: One Vacant Chair
Author: Joe Coomer
Narrator: Lee Ann Howlett
Format: Unabridged
Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-03-11
Publisher: Iambik Audio Inc.
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 25 votes
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher's Summary:
Its where you sit down that determines everything in life. One Vacant Chair is a hilarious and gripping novel by New York Times Notable Book of the Year author Joe Coomer, whom the Washington Times calls a marvelously creative comic writer.
As the owner of several antique stores in Texas, Joe Coomer has an affinity for old chairs. So much so that the main character of his latest novel, Aunt Edna, paints portraits of them. Not people in chairs, just chairs. At the funeral of Grandma Huttonwhom Edna has cared for through an agonizingly long and vague illnessSarah begins helping her aunt clean up the last of a life. This includes honoring Grandmas wish to have her ashes scattered in Scotlandalthough she had never left the state of Texas.
We were two fat women, eighteen years apart, a chair artist and a designer of Christmas ornaments, who only knew we had troubles and a hot summer to get through, says Sarah. But as it turns out, there is a great deal more to her quirky aunts troubles than Sarah could possibly imagine. As the novel turns from the oppressive heat of Texas to the cool, misty beauty of Scotland, she learns of her Aunt Ednas remarkable secret life and comes to fully understand the fragile business of living and even dying.
Critic Reviews:
Joe Coomers characters in
One Vacant Chair, especially the women, are those friends youve been waiting to meet, and he delivers them with his characteristic delectable language, rich in metaphors and dialect. I savored this novel and cant wait to recommend it to our book clubs! (Cheryl McKeon, Third Place Books, Book Sense 76 Recommendation)
Joe Coomer introduces his characters one by one, each so finely drawn it's like meeting them in person. Try reading two pages without a chuckle, and I guarantee you'll be the first to make it. (
The Sanford Herald)
"In his fifth novel, Coomer displays his unique comic voice while returning to his favorite theme of personal regeneration...This novel's wide sentimental streak is offset by a peppery humor delivered by a most endearing cast of characters. A wonderful read." (
Booklist)