Junkyard at No Town - by J C Myers (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

J.C. Myers' spirited first novel, Junkyard at No Town, captures rural Vermont's land, language, and culture in outrageous and vernacular-rich dialogue, combined with crazy and splendid plot twists and descriptions. You'll find yourself breathless, sometimes wide-eyed, and sometimes laughing, as you follow young Jules' initiation, fresh out of college in the early 80s, seeking a life far from his Westchester upbringing. He buys a junkyard in the rural Vermont village of Iraton--right on the edge of No Town.

Deep-rooted mysteries link incongruous neighbors and illicit livelihoods, impossible loves and unlikely devotions and violent characters -- a house burns, water mysteriously flows and disappears, and people, too, change course, ignite, vanish or die. Readers will long remember the wild, haunting comedy of Jules, Butchy Guyette, Maddy and Byron Peas, Lutheria Tupper, Copeland DeMassey and Aunt Martha, whose intertwined and braided tales reveal Junkyard at No Town's vulnerable secrets, its sins and its virtues - and our own.

Review Quotes

Independent Press Award for Book Cover Design

Distinguished Favorite in the NYC Big City Book Awards

Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) Award for Best Literary Fiction Novel

FINALIST for Best Fiction Book from American Book Fest

"In this debut novel, Myers presents a rich world while also paying tribute to the sleepy charm of rural Vermont and to America's automotive history. In an author's note, Myers explains that Iraton is fictitious, but he makes the town feel incredibly real with lush descriptions of greenery and carefully crafted characters. He nails the distinctive Vermont dialect in his dialogue ("Might's well make yourself cozy, bein' as you'll be living here"), which is entertaining to parse as Jules adjusts to it. Although the sheer number of characters may be overwhelming at first, the novel fluidly brings them together, and they quickly feel like a genuine group of friends. Overall, this is a distinctive reading experience that sincerely expresses how one should appreciate overlooked things.-Kirkus Reviews

"J.C. Myers has a winner here. He portrays rural Vermont, in a substance-soaked No Town, as rough and ready. The curiouser and curiouser plot is every bit as engaging as Howard Frank Mosher's "Disappearances." -Willem Lange, author

"The names: Butchy, Arden, Lutheria, Ansen and Punk - a few folks from JUNKYARD at NO TOWN who're the same as folks I grew up around, loved and still love ... because they're smarter than me by two. J.C. Myers writes Vermonter life that seems to have passed, so it's a pleasure catching up with it in his JUNKYARD at NO TOWN. Love this book cause it's real, and really funny. -Rusty DeWees a.k.a. THE LOGGER Writer, Producer

"This hilarious, outrageous novel is about a backroads town full of crazy rednecks and vivid characters. It's also about finding love, mystery and meaning in life -- and it's a story you won't forget." -Doug Wilhelm, author of the acclaimed novel The Revealers and the forthcoming Street of Storytellers (Rootstock August 2019)

"Welcome to a cast of ribald Vermonters, featuring one inquisitive young flatlander and a dozen or more homegrown locals who sprouted from the soil of Vermont's hillside farms covered in manure and crankcase oil. Sprinkled with bawdy humor, existential angst, and mysticism, Junkyard at No Town is a delightful novel that evokes the writings of Annie Proulx and Howard Frank Mosher." -Bernie Lambek, author of Uncivil Liberties, 2018 INDIES Honorable Mention for Best Mystery