Larry's Party

Last updated
Larry's Party
CarolShields LarrysParty.jpg
Cover to the first edition
Author Carol Shields
Cover artist Jonathan Howells
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
Publisher Knopf Canada
Publication date
2 September 1997
Publication placeCanada
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages339 pp (hardback first edition)
ISBN 0-679-30877-6 (hardback first edition)
OCLC 37981919

Larry's Party is a 1997 novel by Carol Shields. There is an underlying theme of people retracing their steps, both literally and figuratively, and going down different routes to try to achieve fulfilment. [1]

Contents

The novel examines the life of Larry Weller, an "ordinary man made extraordinary" by his unique talent for creating labyrinths. Shields' profound insights into human nature transform Larry from an ordinary, average man into a figure of universal humanity. [2]

The novel won the 1998 Orange Prize for Fiction. In 2001, it was adapted into a musical by Richard Ouzounian and Marek Norman, which starred Brent Carver as Larry. It had its premiere at CanStage in Toronto, Ontario.

Plot

In 1976, Larry Weller is twenty-six years old and employed as a florist in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He accidentally takes a stranger's identical Harris tweed jacket from a coffee shop. This prompts thoughts about his girlfriend Dorrie Shaw and his parents Stu and Dot.

In 1978, Larry marries Dorrie, and they honeymoon in the UK, where he discovers a love for garden mazes when he becomes lost in one. On his thirtieth birthday in 1980, Larry invites his family over for a picnic. He and Dorrie have bought a house and have a son, Ryan.

By 1983, Larry is spending all of his spare time working on a maze around his house, and it now takes up both the front and back yards. A frustrated Dorrie calls in a bulldozer to tear down the entire front section of the maze. This leads to the couple's divorce. Larry remarries, to a scholar of ancient Catholic saints, named Beth Prior. Their marriage is, for the most part, happy, though Larry realizes how much he loved Dorrie when they were married.

By 1988, Larry has moved to Chicago and become one of only a handful of professional maze designers in the world. He thinks back to the maze at his old house in Manitoba and how Dorrie is keeping what is left of it alive. Larry's father dies of colon cancer that year.

In 1991, Larry's son, Ryan, is twelve and visits him in Chicago. Ryan is a good artist and can speak French fluently. In 1992, Beth publishes her first book, and the couple begin to quarrel. In 1994, Larry wins the State of Illinois award for creative excellence for his mazes, but a few months later he and Beth are separated after she accepts a teaching position in the UK, and they get divorced.

In 1996, Larry collapses and falls into a coma for twenty-two days. [2] Beth does not visit him, but Dorrie and Ryan do. The following year, Larry decides to throw a dinner party. He invites his friends, his girlfriend Charlotte, and both of his former wives. As the party is winding down, he experiences a vision of another reality in which he and Dorrie settled their quarrels and never divorced. Dorrie stays behind to help Larry clean up, Charlotte takes a liking to one of Larry's guests, and Beth recognises that Larry still loves Dorrie. Larry and Dorrie say they have always loved each other.

Reception

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly discussed how the novel follows the protagonist "over five decades," through which "Shields observes the changing social conventions, gender roles, vernacular idiosyncracies and moral constructs of the times, interpolating these details into the narrative with subtle wit and an unerring eye for telling details. She also delineates the stages of life as the body ages and the future offers only the 'decline of limitless possibility,' while the mind hopes for the solace of some universal truths." [3]

Kirkus Reviews highlighted how "each part is carefully related to the central metaphor of the garden mazes that Larry becomes expert at designing," though they noted that "the climactic chapter [...] is a blatantly contrived device—but successful in spite of its transparency." Kirkus concluded by calling the novel "very fine and real," saying, "Shields writes with the rare self-assurance of one who from the first knows where her characters are going and what will become of them once they arrive, and—rarer still—manages not to bend them out of shape along the way." [4]

Booklist also reviewed the novel. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Shields</span> Canadian writer

Carol Ann Shields was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in Canada.

<i>Straight Man</i> 1997 novel by Richard Russo

Straight Man is a novel by American writer Richard Russo set at the fictional West Central Pennsylvania University in Railton, Pennsylvania. A campus novel, the book was inspired by Russo's experiences teaching at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Southern Connecticut State University, and Penn State Altoona.

<i>Higher Education</i> (novel) 1996 book by Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle

Higher Education is a 1996 science fiction novel by American writer Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle. It first appeared in the February to May 1986 issues of Analog Science Fiction and Fact The book is part of the Jupiter series and was first published in book form by Tor Books in June 1986.

<i>Mama Floras Family</i> 1998 American film

Mama Flora's Family is a 1997 historical fiction novel by Alex Haley and David Stevens. The story spans from the 1920s to the 1970s as it follows Flora, a daughter of poor black Mississippi sharecroppers, and her descendants. Haley died before completing the novel, with Stevens finishing the story line.

<i>Vote for Larry</i> 2004 novel by Janet Tashjian

Vote for Larry is a political comedy young adult novel by Janet Tashjian. The novel is the sequel to The Gospel According to Larry, and stems around the 2004 United States presidential election. It follows Josh Swensen, who runs for U.S. President under his anti-consumerist persona as Internet celebrity "Larry".

<i>The Gospel According to Larry</i> 2001 novel by Janet Tashjian

The Gospel According to Larry is a coming-of-age young adult novel by Janet Tashjian. The novel focuses on Josh Swenson, a teenager who preaches his anti-consumerism beliefs under his online pseudonym of "Larry" and must deal with the sudden popularity of his web presence.

<i>Hairstyles of the Damned</i> 2004 novel by Joe Meno

Hairstyles of the Damned is a coming-of-age novel and the third book by Chicago author Joe Meno. Released by Punk Planet Books in 2004, it has sold over 80,000 copies in ten printings. It has been optioned for film by Focus Features.

The Boy at War trilogy is a series of young adult historical novels by Harry Mazer. The first book, A Boy at War was released on April 3, 2001 and is based on the events of the attack on Pearl Harbor that initiated the United States' involvement in World War II. The books follow Adam Pelko, the son of a navy commander stationed at Pearl Harbor, during the Japanese attack of December 7, 1941.

<i>Into the Wild</i> (novel) 2003 novel by a team with the pseudonym Erin Hunter

Into the Wild is a fantasy novel about the lives of fictional cats, written by a team of authors using the pseudonym Erin Hunter. The novel was published by HarperCollins in Canada and the United States in January 2003, and in the United Kingdom in February 2003. It is the first novel in the Warriors series. The book has been published in paperback and e-book formats in twenty different languages. The story is about a young domestic cat named Rusty who leaves his human owners to join a group of forest-dwelling feral cats called ThunderClan, adopting a new name: Firepaw. He is trained to defend and hunt for the clan, becomes embroiled in a murder and betrayal within the clan, and, at the end of the book, receives his warrior name, Fireheart, after a battle with another clan. The novel is written from the perspective of Fireheart.

Chris Petit is an English novelist and filmmaker. During the 1970s he was Film Editor for Time Out and wrote in Melody Maker. His first film was the cult British road movie Radio On, while his 1982 film An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival. His films often have a strong element of psychogeography, and he has worked frequently with the writer Iain Sinclair. He has also written a number of novels, including Robinson (1993).

<i>I Know What You Did Last Summer</i> (novel) 1973 novel by Lois Duncan

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1973 suspense novel for young adults by Lois Duncan. A film adaptation loosely based on the novel was released in 1997.

<i>3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows</i> 2009 novel by Ann Brashares

3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows is a young adult novel by Ann Brashares published on January 13, 2009. It is a spin-off to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series as main characters Polly, Jo and Ama are about to attend South Bethesda High School, the school the original sisterhood attended.

<i>Candyfloss</i> (novel) 2006 novel by Jacqueline Wilson

Candyfloss is a novel written by Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt. It was first published in 2006 by Doubleday.

<i>The House in the Night</i> 2008 childrens picture book

The House in the Night is a children's picture book written by Susan Marie Swanson and illustrated by Beth Krommes. Published in 2008, the book is a bedtime verse about the light in a house during the night. Krommes won the 2009 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations.

Elvira Woodruff is an American children's writer known for books that include elements of fantasy and history.

Claire King is an English author, best known for her novel The Night Rainbow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwame Alexander</span> American writer of poetry and childrens fiction (born 1968)

Kwame Alexander is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction.

<i>On the Come Up</i> 2019 young adult novel by Angie Thomas

On the Come Up, published on February 5, 2019, by Balzer + Bray, is a young adult novel by Angie Thomas. It tells the story of Bri, a sixteen-year old rapper hoping to fill the shoes of her father and "make it" as an underground hip-hop legend. Overnight, Bri becomes an internet sensation after posting a rap hit which sparks controversy. As Bri defeats the odds to "make it" she battles controversy to achieve her dreams. It is set in the same universe as Thomas' first book The Hate U Give.

<i>If You Could Be Mine</i> 2013 young adult novel by Sara Farizan

If You Could Be Mine is a 2013 young adult novel by Sara Farizan. The book tells the story of Sahar, an Iranian teenage girl who is willing to go through sex reassignment surgery so she can marry her best friend, Nasrin. The book was received positively by critics, especially due to its description of the life of homosexual and transgender people in Iran, and it received multiple awards from LGBT publications in 2014.

<i>Malibu Rising</i> 2021 novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu Rising is a historical fiction novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, published June 1, 2021 by Ballantine Books. The book was a New York Times best seller. It is being adapted by Hulu into a TV show.

References

  1. Postcolonial Gateways and Walls: Under Construction. Brill. 2016. p. 221. ISBN   9789004337688.
  2. 1 2 Shelley Saguaro (2006). Garden plots: the politics and poetics of gardens. Ashgate Pub. pp. 112–3. ISBN   9780754637530.
  3. "Larry's Party by Carol Shields, Edward R. F. Sheehan". Publishers Weekly . September 1, 1997. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  4. "Larry's Party". Kirkus Reviews . June 1, 1997. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  5. "Larry's Party". Booklist . July 1997. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
Preceded by Orange Prize for Fiction
1998
Succeeded by