When Sheriff Dan Norman arrests local trouble-maker Tiny Darling for vandalising an anti-vandalism dance, he does not expect much in the way of fallout. But unseen wheels have been set in motion, and lives will be changed: Dan finds love, Tiny loses his wife Louise, and all three travel an epic journey of the heart.
The End of Vandalism is full of small miracles of observation, compassion and humour, held together by the ‘electric deadpan’ of Drury’s celebrated style. For readers willing to tune in, the experience will be a revelation.
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/3854/9781910400296
'A major figure in American literature, author of a string of novels without a dud in the bunch … Drury gives us the wondrous and engaging stuff of real storytelling.' —New York Times
- 'A masterpiece … one of the past half-century's finest novels.' —Independent on Sunday
- 'Astonishing … Drury's descriptions are so tangible that it feels almost surprising that his characters don't wander out of the pages and shake you by the hand … The best way to do justice to the book is to urge you to read it. When I first saw a copy I noted that Jonathan Franzen was quoted on the front. At the time, I thought Drury had done well to get such an endorsement. Now I've read The End of Vandalism, I realise it's the other way round. To be associated with something this good would be an honour for any writer.' —Independent
- 'Takes you to wonderful places.' —Guardian
- 'A rare master at the art of seeing.' —Yiyun Li
Tom Drury's fiction has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's and in Granta magazine, where he was chosen as a 'Best Young American Novelist' in 1996. As well as The End of Vandalism, he is the author of Hunts in Dreams, Pacific, The Driftless Area (now a major motion picture) and The Black Brook. He currently lives in New York City.