About this item
The stunning debut novel from sculptor and painter Annie Weatherwax, a wry and sharply observed portrait of a gritty mother and daughter, living on the edge of poverty, who find an unlikely home amid the quirky residents of small town America. For thirteen-year-old Ruthie Carmichael and her mother, Rita, life has never been stable. The only sure thing is their love for each other. Though Rita works more than one job, the pair teeters on the edge of poverty. When their landlord kicks them out, Rita resorts to her movie-star looks and produces carpet-installer Phil, an instant boyfriend, who takes them in. Before long, Ruthie convinces her mother to leave and in their battered Ford Escort, they head East in search of a better life. When money runs out and their car breaks down, they find themselves stranded in a small town called Fat River where their luck finally takes a turn.
About the Author
Before turning to writing I had a long career sculpting superheroes and cartoon characters for DC Comics, Nickelodeon, Pixar and others. My short stories have appeared in The Southern Review, The Sun Magazine and elsewhere. In 2009 I was awarded the Robert Olen Butler Prize for Fiction and I have written for the New York Times. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, I am currently a full time painter and writer. What is most important to me as an artist and a writer is authenticity of voice. If I had to classify my own voice, I'd call it comic realism. It is a heightened, stylized wryness that often plunges into darkness. It permeates everything I do. Like my visual work, my fiction is bold and colorful with an undercurrent of darkness. My artistic inspiration comes from many places. My fictional characters are often inspired by paintings - Alice Neel's portraits are my favorites. And the boldness of Lorrie Moore's characters have inspired my paintings. Both my painting and writing styles are influenced by the campy melodrama of Pop artists such as James Rosenquist and Andy Warhol. Yet what drives my work most is my voice - a dark and light, frivolous and grave, sardonic and serious sensibility that feels imbedded in my DNA. In life, as in art, I cannot see reality without seeing the absurdity of it too.
