Days of the Endless Corvette: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Man Martin
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $0.51
You Save: $14.44 (97%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 243329
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0786719877
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780786719877
ASIN: 0786719877
Publication Date: May 16, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new, never opened, in stock, and ships right now.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A charming and fiercely intelligent story of true love, the mystery of life, and car repair in 1970s Georgia.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
Irresistible October 18, 2007
This deliciously irresistible work by Man Martin created a magical community with such finely drawn characters that you wish they were real--all of them. It is rare to find a book where every character delights--even the seamy ones. You almost expect (and certainly wish) to be able to give Earl a call when your car takes a turn for the worst, when you crave green eggs and ham, or when you suffer a bad fall. You suffer when hearts break but are amazed at the resilience of the human spirit. Sly humor or frank laughter bubbled throughout the book. I carried this book everywhere so I could sneak in just a few more minutes of reading and I longed for more when it was done. Then I went and bought extra copies to give as gifts so I would not lose my own copy. Bravo, Man Martin--the pleasure of Deepstep lingers still. How lucky we would be to live where such sweetness and humor are paired with great enduring love.
A Southern Classic August 12, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Meet one of the most endearing protagonists since Huck Finn: Earl Mulvaney, the small-town Southern hero of Man Martin's debut novel. Have your box of Kleenex handy for Earl's heartbreaking obstacles as he cares for his mother, pursues his Corvette dreams, and woos his childhood sweetheart. Yet Martin's novel combines tragedy and comedy, and you will laugh out loud plenty. In short, your spouse is going to think either you're drunk or going through "the change" while you read the book, but your book club will understand. (And yes, you should read Days of the Endless Corvette with a few friends; it is a novel to share.) Earl's got to put his dreams into action among idiosyncratic small-town Southern characters you'd swear were real--they're that funny. The population of Humble County includes a mechanic who believes that cars evolved from fish and a trailer-restaurant owner who cleverly bypasses the county's alcohol and hunting restrictions. Another town resident endlessly pines for a lost love, not the wife who left him, but the dog she took with her, Digger. Whether this cast is chasing down bees or putting out various fires, the book's wise and winking narrator loves a good joke, so humor scatters down almost every page. Yet Martin's playful and innovative technique doesn't sacrifice soul, which makes this a novel for all lovers of great Southern literature.
Days of the Endless Corvette is in part about bringing a hero from boyhood to manhood, but along the way, it touches on everything from Schrodinger's cat to Civil War treasure. The novel is also about lovingly sharing stories, of the meaningful transformation storytelling brings. One of the characters tells his son, "If you love what you do, every day is like a vacation." Reading the book, you will know that you are in good hands, that the author loves what he does, and that you and he are taking a wondrous ride together.
A philosophical literary confection- delicious! August 7, 2007
Reading the new book, Days of the Endless Corvette, was like curling up in a big ol' comfy easy chair in front of the fireplace at a cozy inn. I couldn't wait to see what happened on each subsequent page, and I felt truly connected to the cast of eccentric country characters. Man Martin's words convey sweet charm, sly humor, and fascinating philosophy. His style is unique and at times downright hilarious. More than a few times, I scared the wits out of my dogs when I broke into shrieks of spontaneous and loud laughter... You really MUST read this book!
Charming and authentic July 29, 2007
The town I grew up in was not exactly like Man Martin's Deepstep, Georgia. For one thing, it was in Kentucky. For another, it was certainly much bigger (small as it was) than Deepstep. But it was populated with people who can best be described as "characters," in the can-you-believe-what-he/she-just-did? sense, and at times it seemed that the swirling morass of often unusually directed energy was without purpose except to keep everyone in place for all time, as though they'd been hit with cosmic hairspray.
The main characters of Days of the Endless Corvette are at the center of just such a vortex. Earl is a mechanic with an intuitive ability to repair close to anything and even wind up with parts to spare. He thinks he could harvest enough left over parts to build a Corvette from nothing. Ellen is curious, well read and thoughtful in a way that makes most of Deepstep uncomfortable. She gave up a lot to have her daughter, including Earl. They are in love, but they can't be together.
But Martin handles this with such easy grace that the story aches but does not hurt. Some might find this a bit too sentimental or easy, but that misses the larger point. True to small towns (and to most people wherever they live, I would venture), the folks who populate Days of the Endless Corvette are most all decent people who are doing the best they can. With two notable exceptions, there are no people in the book out to bring down Earl either through malice or indifference. Instead, Earl's greatest struggle is with himself: he must learn to live with disappointment.
The story's narrator is a bit of a curiosity, too, and Martin knows it, having the narrator feign outrage at one point that the reader might doubt his veracity. He is, however, at the only place in the story where the paths of Earl and Ellen consistently cross, and then only in tangent.
Gump does maintenance July 25, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Forrest Gump meets Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance with a southern twang. OK, you literatis probably wonder what I mean by this. The protagonist is awkward, introverted but talented mechanically, and he lives in a world of ideas to replace the human element that he finds so stressful. His star-crossed love object broke his heart (and mine) when she marries a dumb jock because of pregnancy, while the protagonist is still working on second base. The references to southern living are refreshing in that they don't depend on bigotry or center around food.
This was a captivating story and an enjoyable summer read, notwithstanding that it was the author's first novel, which for other persons has sometimes resulted in a product only a mother could love. This first novel has appeal to all, and indicates the author has a good future.
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