Larry’s Party (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Carol Shields
- First Published: 1997
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: 1977-1997
- Setting: Chicago and Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Principal Characters: Larry Weller, Dorrie Weller, Ryan Weller, Beth Prior, Stu Weller, Dorothy Weller, Midge Weller, Charlotte Angus
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: Language or languages, Self-discovery, Twentieth century, Gender roles, Communication, Divorce, Men, Saints or sainthood, Parties, Impotence, Clothing or dress, Puzzles
- Locales: Chicago, IL, Winnipeg, Canada
Larry’s Party, Carol Shields’s first novel since winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Stone Diaries (1994), combines the fragmented, piecemeal style of that novel with thematic strategies used in The Republic of Love (1992). Shields seems intent on keeping Larry’s Party lighter than The Stone Diaries; consequently, it lacks some of the dark, dramatic intensity of that novel. Larry’s Party nevertheless marks a clever return to the wit and humor found in Shields’s earlier works, particularly in how Shields creates the average but quirky...
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