The End of Vandalism - by Tom Drury (Paperback)

About the Book

At the heart of Grouse County, in the American midwest, is an unforgettable triangle: Dan Norman, the county sheriff whose empathy exceeds his love for law enforcement; Tiny Darling, a part-time thief who smashes up a "dance against vandalism"; and Louise Darling, the woman forced to choose between them.

Book Synopsis

Set in rural Iowa, this "breathtaking . . . remarkable achievement" of a debut novel by the author of Pacific is "at once funny, sad, and touching" (New York Newsday).
A New York Magazine and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
With extensive excerpts appearing in the New Yorker before its release, Tom Drury's groundbreaking debut, The End of Vandalism, drew widespread acclaim and comparison to the works of Sherwood Anderson and William Faulkner.
With his fictional Grouse County, Tom Drury conjures a Midwest that is at once familiar and amusingly eccentric--where a thief vacuums the church before stealing the chalice, a lonely woman paints her toenails in a drafty farmhouse, and a sleepless man watches his restless bride scatter their bills beneath the stars.
When Sheriff Dan Norman arrests Tiny Darling for vandalizing an anti-vandalism dance, he goes on to marry the culprit's ex-wife Louise. But while Tiny loses Louise, Louise loses her sense of self--and all three find themselves in a love triangle that sets them on an epic journey.
"A truly great writer." --Esquire
"Grouse County is unabashedly American, a setting both nostalgic and wittily contemporary." --The Boston Globe

Review Quotes

"Brilliant, wonderfully funny ... It's hard to think of any novel--let alone a first novel--in which you can hear the people so well. This is indeed deadpan humor, and Tom Drury is its master."