Publishers Weekly
09/02/2019
Clarke (The Price of a Haircut) crafts a deeply quirky narrative about a middle-aged pellet stove blogger and the wacky adventures he finds. After his mother, Nola, author of a bestselling book on theologian John Calvin, dies in an accident, Calvin Bledsoe, who spends his days writing about pellet stoves, becomes restless and isn’t quite sure what to do next.Then Calvin’s shifty yet charming aunt Beatrice surprises him with a passport and insists he accompany her on her travels, and the not-too-dynamic duo leave Maine and head to Europe. Once there, they get into inventive trouble—purchasing gerbil porn, stealing everything not nailed down, and getting kidnapped—up and down the continent, all windingly leading to the true reason that Beatrice has brought Calvin on the trip. At times the freewheeling plot veers into confusing territory, and the weird nicknames and freakishly horrible events that plague the title character go overboard. Still, Clarke keeps it all grounded with standout prose. Fans of Graham Greene’s Travels with My Aunt and John Irving’s The World According to Garp will delight in this story of a modern-day traveler. As the title character opines, “The world is remarkable, and we are grateful to be given a chance to live in it.” Agent: Elizabeth Sheinkman, Peters Fraser + Dunlop. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
This exuberant comic novel—involving explosions, secret agents, religious fanatics and a hapless narrator dragged around Europe by his long-lost aunt—is also a sly theological exploration of fate and predestination.” —The New York Times Book Review “A delightful, quasi-liturgical allegory of our times. Following Calvin Bledsoe from Maine through Europe in a tale both fantastical and thoughtful, Clarke takes his readers into his safe—and wacky—hands for an experience that should not be missed. A wonderful read.” —Elizabeth Strout, author of Anything Is Possible “This is a quirky comic gem of a novel about midlife ennui, about the mysteries of family, and the virtues of wood pellet stoves. Brock Clarke is a one-of-a-kind novelist with a captivating voice and an ability to capture both the profundity and the absurdity of our lives.” —Tom Perrotta, author of Mrs. Fletcher “Brock Clarke's Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe? is a wild ride of a book, a story in which anything and everything can happen, and mostly does. This is a book of many trips—across oceans, back to the past, and, most profoundly, into the infinite deep space of the human heart. Brock Clarke has given us a wonderful novel that bursts with all the meaty stuff of real life.” —Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk “Joyous, melancholic, and funny . . . Reminiscent of the comedic European travels found in Andrew Sean Greer’s Less, this is in many ways a coming-of-age story about a 50-year-old man. Part travelogue across Europe, part caper, part crime thriller, and full of delightfully unexpected turns, Clarke’s novel mixes prodigious insight with the playful silliness that marks all of his fiction to date. This superb work displays Clarke’s idiosyncratic style in all its glory.” —Booklist “Command of narrative tone has long been a hallmark of the underheralded Clarke's fiction, and here he sustains a tightrope balance between the matter-of-fact observations of the titular protagonist and the increasingly outlandish adventures he finds himself in . . . a mind-bending experience for the reader. Unquestionably the funniest novel ever written about Calvinism.” —Kirkus Reviews “Seasoning his comic stew with sly turns of phrase and deadpan humor, Clarke guides the audience toward a touching answer to the question posed by the book’s title . . . Clarke is just as interested in the journey as he is in the destination, and in his deft hands, Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe? is cheeky, absurd, and surprisingly poignant.” —Foreword Reviews
Library Journal - Audio
12/01/2019
After his overbearing mother's sudden death, bland Calvin Bledsoe learns that she had a twin sister. When he accompanies his enigmatic aunt on a trek through Europe, he learns the truth about their family history and considers life, love, faith, and his own identity. Cryptic phone calls, code names, and crime propel the plot, but this novel relies too heavily on the misinterpretations, willful misunderstandings, and failure of the main character to perceive obvious information. Peter Berkrot's expert performance lends dimension to this first-person account. VERDICT This quirky audiobook is a supplemental purchase for collections with demand for humorous stories and travel adventures.—Lisa Youngblood, Harker Heights P.L., TX
JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile
Narrator Peter Berkrot gives a perfectly pitched performance in this existential take on a midlife crisis. At the funeral of his mildly famous mother, a theologian, Calvin Bledsoe meets his long-lost Aunt Beatrice and embarks on an unexpected adventure across the globe with her. Berkrot’s narration is wry and matter-of-fact, providing a counterpoint to the increasingly zany twists and turns of the plot. Calvin is the essential straight man, both bewildered and sardonic, while Aunt Beatrice is cheerfully imperious. As Calvin and his aunt create mayhem wherever they go, Berkrot adds voices for the wild cast of supporting characters they encounter. Listeners who enjoy absurdist adventure mixed with philosophical debate will be swept up by this unusual audiobook. N.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-05-27
An innocent abroad, all but kidnapped by an aunt he never knew he had, experiences his belated coming-of-age through a series of madcap European escapades.
Command of narrative tone has long been a hallmark of the underheralded Clarke's (An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, 2007, etc.) fiction, and here he sustains a tightrope balance between the matter-of-fact observations of the titular protagonist and the increasingly outlandish adventures he finds himself in. It's a little late in the game for Calvin to be coming-of-age, but here he is, on the cusp of 50, divorced from a woman who won't leave him alone, living in his parents' home, recently orphaned with the death of his mother. She was the bestselling author of an inspirational book on John Calvin, whose aphorisms provide the novel's thematic underpinnings. Her only son is one of two bloggers for the international pellet-stove industry; his ex-wife is the other. They often communicate with and about each other through their chatty blogs. His life changes irrevocably when a woman he has never seen before introduces herself at his mother's funeral as the twin sister of the deceased. Without his knowledge or consent, she somehow procures for him a passport and a trans-Atlantic plane ticket, telling him, "It's never too late to grow up, Calvin." Then it's off to the races, as the plot hurtles across Europe through various manners of deceit, duplicity, mutual betrayals, stolen vehicles, stolen identities, odd nicknames with odder backstories, and climactic revelations concerning Calvin, his mother, his aunt, and his destiny. As an oracular voice intones, "In order to see…you must open your eyes," the eye-opening discoveries of the narrator provide a mind-bending experience for the reader.
Unquestionably the funniest novel ever written about Calvinism.
