Scott Muskin’s first novel is well-written enough to earn it a finalist position in the novel and short story category of the 2010 Minnesota Book Awards.
Whether it wins or not will be known today, as the awards gala takes place this evening in Saint Paul at the Crowne Plaza Hotel – Saint Paul Riverfront.
In his book, The Annunciations of Hank Meyerson, Mama’s Boy and Scholar, Muskin creates a man whose appearance and personality seems to embody all that we find unattractive and even contemptible. He is overweight, over-emotional, insensitive, too in love with himself and continually in need of attention. Yet he has qualities the reader finds winning, too, which mainly revolve around his keen observations of those other complex characters in his life.
The action takes place in the course of Hank’s trip from Minneapolis to Montana and finally to “the fateful shallows of the St. Croix River.” In the course of these travels, a universe is created that "swells with literary digressions, familial flashbacks, in-jokes, dark humor, and the treasured absurdities of everyday life... There is plenty of humor in the pathos, though, and a taste of joy cuts through all the betrayals and failures as Hank, the careless mama's boy, is forced to grow up." (Mpls.St.Paul Magazine)
Andi Diehn in ForeWord magazine writes, “By the end of the novel, though… Muskin puts us thoroughly on Hank’s side, and not just because of the drastic changes that render him pitiful. Hank earns compassion by being utterly, recognizably human.
“Scott Muskin is a very smart writer; each page is packed with literary, cultural, and historical references. Clichés are stood on their heads, metaphors barely kept from bleeding into each other. While his approach isn’t inviting, it is truly compelling; (his) skillful narrative gradually unfolds into touching, surprising observations on how we relate to each other and to the cruelty and beauty of our world.”
[This article continued in next installment.]
Links:
Author’s website http://scottmuskin.com/
MN Book Awards finalists http://www.thefriends.org/award_winners_and_finalists.html#fmba_poetry
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