A book of reasons
Description
"History in its minute particulars touches us all, and in the least expected ways." Every family has its odd character, the one member who never seems right with the world. In his brilliant pairing of family history with the history of civilization, John Vernon discovers the extraordinary sources of ordinary things in the life of his reclusive brother, Paul. When Paul died and John was charged with settling his affairs, he came face to face with a life he had never suspected. His brother's house in southern New Hampshire was in a state of squalid, shocking disrepair: piled high with a lifetime of trash, unheated and decrepit, pitifully unlivable. An assembly worker and an amateur inventor, Paul had managed to keep his sad and strange world hidden. The story of this troubled soul is at once fascinating and tragic. And more: it cries out for reasons. Why does a childhood full of promise turn wrong? Why do we clutter our lives with things? How do we make and understand our world? Vernon seeks answers in the most unexpected places. Buying a hammer and thermometer at Wal-Mart, that icon of consumerism, inspires a short history of tools and the discovery of mercury. Paul's wake occasions an investigation of blood circulation and embalming. Vernon voyages through science and physiology, culture and mythology, on a search "for a way to comprehend a life that left behind not splendid monuments but ordinary wreckage." The result is a book of reasons: reasons for his brother's way of life, reasons for his own response to Paul's death. Bringing to bear the narrative powers that distinguished his acclaimed historical novels Peter Doyle and All for Love, Vernon links the story of one odd individual to the surprising and irregular upheavals of history. In the process, he discovers how reasons, for all of us, are one means of learning to accept things that can never be explained.
Subjects
Subjects
Brothers
Brothers -- Death -- Psychological aspects
Collectors and collecting
Collectors and collecting -- Psychological aspects
Death
Eccentrics and eccentricities
Eccentrics and eccentricities -- United States
Electronic books
Family
Family relationships
Novelists, American
Novelists, American -- 20th century -- Family relationships
Psychological aspects
Recluses
Recluses -- United States
Vernon, John
Vernon, John, -- 1943- -- Family
Brothers -- Death -- Psychological aspects
Collectors and collecting
Collectors and collecting -- Psychological aspects
Death
Eccentrics and eccentricities
Eccentrics and eccentricities -- United States
Electronic books
Family
Family relationships
Novelists, American
Novelists, American -- 20th century -- Family relationships
Psychological aspects
Recluses
Recluses -- United States
Vernon, John
Vernon, John, -- 1943- -- Family
More Details
Contributors:
ISBN:
9780395944776
9780547995144
9780547995144
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 2f399efc-cad0-ad09-af64-3605794667e2 |
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Grouping Title | book of reasons |
Grouping Author | vernon john |
Grouping Category | book |
Last Grouping Update | 2019-11-29 01:19:30AM |
Last Indexed | 2019-12-14 04:02:16AM |
Solr Details
accelerated_reader_point_value | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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accelerated_reader_reading_level | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author | Vernon, John, 1943- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author2-role | hoopla digital. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author_display | Vernon, John | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
available_at_rampart | Woodland Park Public Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
detailed_location_rampart | RLD Woodland Park Adult Non-Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
display_description | "History in its minute particulars touches us all, and in the least expected ways." Every family has its odd character, the one member who never seems right with the world. In his brilliant pairing of family history with the history of civilization, John Vernon discovers the extraordinary sources of ordinary things in the life of his reclusive brother, Paul. When Paul died and John was charged with settling his affairs, he came face to face with a life he had never suspected. His brother's house in southern New Hampshire was in a state of squalid, shocking disrepair: piled high with a lifetime of trash, unheated and decrepit, pitifully unlivable. An assembly worker and an amateur inventor, Paul had managed to keep his sad and strange world hidden. The story of this troubled soul is at once fascinating and tragic. And more: it cries out for reasons. Why does a childhood full of promise turn wrong? Why do we clutter our lives with things? How do we make and understand our world? Vernon seeks answers in the most unexpected places. Buying a hammer and thermometer at Wal-Mart, that icon of consumerism, inspires a short history of tools and the discovery of mercury. Paul's wake occasions an investigation of blood circulation and embalming. Vernon voyages through science and physiology, culture and mythology, on a search "for a way to comprehend a life that left behind not splendid monuments but ordinary wreckage." The result is a book of reasons: reasons for his brother's way of life, reasons for his own response to Paul's death. Bringing to bear the narrative powers that distinguished his acclaimed historical novels Peter Doyle and All for Love, Vernon links the story of one odd individual to the surprising and irregular upheavals of history. In the process, he discovers how reasons, for all of us, are one means of learning to accept things that can never be explained. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_category_rampart | Books | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_rampart | Book | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
id | 2f399efc-cad0-ad09-af64-3605794667e2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
isbn | 9780395944776 9780547995144 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
item_details
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itype_rampart | Book | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
last_indexed | 2019-12-14T11:02:16.497Z | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
lexile_score | -1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form_full | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
local_callnumber_rampart | 813 Ver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_library_rampart | Rampart Library District | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_location_rampart | Woodland Park Public Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
primary_isbn | 9780395944776 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
publishDate | 1999 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
record_details
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recordtype | grouped_work | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
scoping_details_rampart
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subject_facet | Brothers -- Death -- Psychological aspects Collectors and collecting -- Psychological aspects Eccentrics and eccentricities -- United States Electronic books Novelists, American -- 20th century -- Family relationships Recluses -- United States Vernon, John, -- 1943- -- Family | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_display | A book of reasons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_full | A book of reasons / John Vernon A book of reasons [electronic resource] / John Vernon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_short | A book of reasons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
topic_facet | Brothers Collectors and collecting Death Eccentrics and eccentricities Electronic books Family Family relationships Novelists, American Psychological aspects Recluses Vernon, John |