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Published Oct 2007
368 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Ruth Ramsey is the human sexuality teacher at the local high school. She believes that “pleasure is good, shame is bad, and knowledge is power.” Ruth’s younger daughter’s soccer coach is Tim Mason, a former stoner and rocker whose response to hitting rock bottom was to reach out and be saved. Tim belongs to The Tabernacle, an evangelical Christian church that doesn’t approve of Ruth’s style of teaching. And Ruth in turn doesn’t applaud The Tabernacle’s mission to take its message outside its doors. Adversaries in a small-town culture war, Ruth and Tim instinctively mistrust each other. But when a controversy on the soccer field pushes the two of them to actually talk to each other, they are forced to take each other at something other than face value.
"The book is rife with Perrotta's subtle and satiric humor...but these questions get lost as the plot winds down." - Publishers Weekly (Signature review).
". Ruefully humorous and tenderly understanding of human folly: the most mature, accomplished work yet from this deservedly bestselling author. " - Kirkus Reviews.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Tom Perrotta is the bestselling author of nine works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning HBO series. His other books include Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Joe College, The Abstinence Teacher, Nine Inches, Mrs. Fletcher, and Tracy Flick Can't Win. His work has been translated into a multitude of languages. Perrotta grew up in New Jersey and lives outside of Boston.
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