Panhandlers - by Nic Schuck (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Nic Schuck follows up his debut novel, Native Moments, with a gritty tale of family drama. Mostly set in the fictional lumber town of Sullivan, Florida, a sleepy forgotten place on the Florida-Alabama border. Panhandlers: a novel in stories, follows Hank Ackerman as he grows up in poverty and attempts to escape the same demons that haunted his father. Sometimes dreams are all people have and it's those dreams of far-off places that can be the difference in embarking on a life of adventure or being complacent in the life you were born into.

Review Quotes

"Things have changed little in the profound South since the days of Harry Crews and Larry Brown. If you like the gritty South noir that began with Sanctuary, you will find Panhandlers--from the piney-woods northwest Florida region--very satisfying. Nic Schuck knows his territory and he knows the inhabitants and their mores--cock fighting, dog fighting, beer drinking, shooting, and the never-ending, gut-wrenching age-old art of mere survival--first-hand. If you want the real story, this is it." - Allen Josephs is the author, most recently, of On Cormac McCarthy: Essays on Mexico, Crime, Hemingway and God

"Nic Schuck captures the nuances of the seedier side of the Florida Panhandle like few have in this collection of interwoven short stories. The characters bear eerie resemblances to the people we have investigated and covered over the years. Well done." - Rick Outzen, publisher of Pensacola's Independent News and author of City of Grudges

"As an instructor of literature and the co-owner of an indie bookstore, I have the opportunity to read a number of young authors. By far, Nic Schuck is one of the most talented new writers I've come across in years. With echoes of Hemingway and McCarthy-- as well as newer Southern writers such as Tom Franklin--Nic Schuck adds a unique contribution to both modern Southern literature and the emerging Florida canon, with the truly authentic voice of the Gulf South."

- C. Scott Satterwhite, University of West Florida and co-owner of Open Books