From Away: A Novel

By David Carkeet

David Carkeet's previous novels have been covered in glory by critics and gained him a loyal following, but in From Away he has created a masterpiece-a brilliant comic novel that is also a finely wrought mystery.

Denny Braintree, a wisecracking loner devoted to model trains, finds himself stranded in late-winter Vermont. His night at the hotel begins with promise, but then his prospective one-night stand walks out on him. Leaving town, Denny is mistaken for look-a-like Homer Dumpling, a popular native son who mysteriously disappeared from town three years earlier. Instead of correcting the mistake, Denny dons his new identity as easily as a Vermonter's winter fleece, and a good thing too-the woman he had hoped to sleep with has turned up dead, and Denny is the chief suspect.

As Denny tries to unravel the mystery, he struggles to hide his true identity from Homer's increasingly suspicious circle of family and friends, including Homer's prickly girlfriend. In Denny, Carkeet has crafted a fast- talking bumbler whose instinct for survival will face the ultimate challenge, with readers cheering him on all the way..

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Mar 4, 2010
• ISBN: 9781590204573

David Carkeet

DAVID CARKEET's writings include five novels, three of which are New York Times Notable Books: Double Negative, The Greatest Slump of All Time, I Been There Before, The Full Catastrophe, and The Error of Our Ways. His short stories and essays have appeared in such publications as the North American Review, the Oxford American, the New York Times Magazine, and the Village Voice. He resides in Vermont.

Reviews for From Away

[tloeffler_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really didn't like this book at first, and it took me three tries to get into it. The main character, Dennis Braintree, is extremely unlikeable, and very annoying. He is a model train fanatic, writing for a model train magazine, and the novel begins with him wrecking his car in an obscure little town. It's never clear whether he was drunk or on drugs, but he certainly acted like it. I persevered, though, and it got much better. Denny finds a hotel, and that night, a drunk woman barges into his room and makes herself cozy in the Jacuzzi, sending Denny out for condoms. When he returns, she is gone, and he finds himself accused of her murder. While trying to escape, he is mistaken for one of the town's residents who has been gone for three years, and he ends up taking on that person's life while he tries to figure out whodunnit. Once I got past the first few chapters, the story became compelling, and I finished it quickly. Since this was an advance copy, I don't know what changes will be made in the final analysis, but if you get a chance to read it, it's a fun read.

[rlsalvati · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a book club selection for me. I had a very hard time getting into this book, then about halfway through couldn't put it down. I will read more from this author.