Larry's Party

By Carol Shields

Book Overview

The San Diego Tribune called The Stone Diaries a "universal study of what makes women tick." With Larry's Party Carol Shields has done the same for men. Larry Weller, born in 1950, is an ordinary guy made extraordinary by his creator's perception, irony, and tenderness. Larry's Party gives us, as it were, a CAT scan of his life, in episodes between 1977 and 1997, that seamlessly flash backward and forward. We follow this young floral designer through two marriages and divorces, and his interactions with his parents, friends, and a son. Throughout, we witness his deepening passion for garden mazes--so like life, with their teasing treachery and promise of reward. Among all the paradoxes and accidents of his existence, Larry moves through the spontaneity of the seventies, the blind enchantment of the eighties, and the lean, mean nineties, completing at last his quiet, stubborn search for self. Larry's odyssey mirrors the male condition at the end of our century with targeted wit, unerring poignancy, and faultless wisdom.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140266771
• ISBN13: 9780140266771
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A gem, emotionally and stylistically.

Like so many of us, Larry Weller finds himself, on occasion, lost. Is that why he is drawn to the arcane profession of maze-making? Or is his fascination with mazes a reflection of his deepening intellect and development as a man? In the course of fifteen carefully observed chapters, Carol Shields examines the maze-like Life of Larry. Each chapter is like a short film in which Shields refocuses her lens on a specific aspect of Larry's life: "Larry's Words," "Larry's Love," "Larry's Kid," etc. The end result is an in-depth portrait of a multi-dimensional guy, a compendium of details that elevates the seemingly ordinary Larry into someone utterly unique. She follows him through college (actually a trade school for florists), through the courtship of his first wife, through disillusionments and deaths, and finally to the party of the title, in which many of his life's loose ends are resolved.This is deep, smart, resonant writing, a subtly cajoling book that satisfies and delights.

it's a great book

This book was one of many that I've read and I only know one other book that has put such an effect on me. This book shows a point of view that can't easily be showed. Carol Shields is a fantastic author and I can't wait for more of her stories.

GREAT READ!

Well written. Not only is it interesting to follow a man's personal growth from a woman's point of view, but the author's technique is such that each chapter stands well on its own.

My review is rave for a marvelous life story

Larry, the eponymous protagonist, is a late 20th century man who drifts through relationships as he drifts through his work. He, like his parents, seems to have life happen to him rather than helping it along. The results are hilarious and sad alternately. Each chapter is a short story in itself and the last chapter, "Larry's Party", is simply the best depiction of a dinner party and the table talk shows Ms Shields ear for conversation and is brilliant. I read 75-100 books per year and this is only the second one in my life where I had to write the author. There is a correlation in this book to Richard Ford's Independence Day and The Sportswriter but not as dark

Carol Shields nails it again!

You already know Larry Weller. He's someone in everyone's life, and consequently, you'll find bits of your memories in "Larry's Party." Larry emerges from a fairly passive life when he enters a hedge maze on his honeymoon. From there, we're off on the maze that is Larry's life. Carol Shields again shows her striking grasp of language and its importance in our societal species. You'll learn some new words and find yourself simply giggling at the use of others. Each chapter finds Larry a few years down the road, and throughout each chapter, there are recaps of the central characters -- much the way you must review where you've traveled in a maze to find its center. The climax of the story is a party given by Larry in which many of the main people in his life meet for the first time. The dialouge and banter again reinforce how much we rely on speech, and the ending ... well, like a maze, you have to move away from the center to reach it. Larry is everyman. He is your brother, your best friend, yourself. That a woman has captured the essence of how a man moves and thinks through life is a testament to the extraordinary abilities Carol Shields possesses.