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Gr 8-Up For those who want to know the real poop behind this popular author's characters (and, to some extent, his character), this is the book you've been waiting for. The cover photo tells it all: a white picket fence in the background, for all the world as straight and orderly and stereotypically 1950s proper as the author's maddeningly rational father, "Crutch," wanted things to appear. But looming in the foreground is toothy, smiling Chris, the short-fused emotional time bomb who regularly exploded into anger and tears. Protective ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Crutcher, best known for his novels and short stories, has discovered his most effective voice in this collection of episodic, autobiographical essays. Informal essays invite self-revelation, humor, loose structure, and even moralizing; Crutcher responds to all four elements. He writes in an easy, conversational tone, as if he were sitting down swapping stories with his good friend, the reader. He moves back and forth in time, as storytellers do, letting one incident connect to the ne...Log In or Sign Up to Read More