From Publishers Weekly
For Henry Powell, every day is the same: he wakes just before 7 a.m. to prepare for work at the men's clothing store he's worked at since he was 17. Now 31, he's ready to die of boredom. Henry briefly escaped from his small New England town via college, but family problems—his alcoholic mother and his emotionally icy father needed help and his brother had moved away—brought him back from college in the early '80s. Every now and then, an acquaintance from Henry's prestigious prep school stops by the store, but much of Henry's time is spent in fantasyland, where he is a famous rock musician or the subject of a biography. A romance with Cathy Nicholas, who works at a neighboring coffee shop, is promising, but that, too, peters out. As Henry's temporary leave from college becomes permanent and the years tick by, it seems nothing except the style of pants he sells will change. Until the store goes out of business on—wait for it—September 10, 2001, and change for Henry promptly ensues. Flock (
But I'm Screaming Inside;
Me & Emma) fills the flashback-heavy book with cultural touchstones from the era of big hair and unfortunate fashion and manages an optimistic conclusion to Henry's drab story.
(Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Flock's introspective third novel delves into the seemingly ordinary life of Henry Powell, one of three sons, who surprisingly becomes a football star in his senior year in high school, and receives a college scholarship. He also takes a part-time job at Baxter's, the local men's clothing store; then, when his father calls him home to help care for his chronically ill mother, the job at Baxter's becomes full-time. As months turn to years, and Henry's dreams of becoming a
Sports Illustrated interviewee gradually fade, Flock adroitly jumps back and forth in time, alternating between Henry's pathetic present and his childhood, revealing the episodes of family trauma that have irreparably scarred this fractured family. Through the visits of former classmates to Baxter's annual "Everything Must Go" sale over the years, Henry catches glimpses of the life he might have led; as successive attempts to extricate himself from his parents' depressing existence fail, he plods on, never completely giving up. Another strong characterization from Flock, who uncannily immerses herself in Henry's vulnerable, yet stalwart, psyche.
Deborah DonovanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
