ReviewsWinner of the California Book Award
"A meticulous rendition of the gritty reality of smalltown life, McNeal is aware that many more of us will accept the sadness we know than will venture out in search of a possibly painful unknown--and he renders such decisions in language whose very plainness feels musical." --The New York Times "You'll want to buy copies for all your reading friends . . . flawless." --The San Francisco Chronicle “A vivid, tender and thoughtful portrait of a Great Plains farm town. These sad, secret stories bring out the best of McNeal’s writing, and are his finest and most lasting gifts to the reader.” --Los Angeles Times “Completely compelling. A beautifully drawn portrait of a town that at once confines and cradles the people who grow up in it.” --National Public Radio "Deft, touching, and humorous. In the tradition of Richard Ford, Raymond Carver, and Anne Tyler." --The Christian Science Monitor |
At the age of 17, Randall Hunsacker shoots his mother's boyfriend, steals a car and comes close to killing himself. His second chance lies in a small Nebraska farm town, where the landmarks include McKibben's Mobil Station, Frmka's Superette, and a sign that says The Wages of Sin is Hell. This is Goodnight, a place so ingrown and provincial that Randall calls it "Sludgeville"-until he starts thinking of it as home.
In this pitch-perfect novel, Tom McNeal explores the currents of hope, passion, and cruelty beneath the surface of the American heartland. In Randall, McNeal creates an outcast whose redemption lies in Goodnight, a strange, small, but ultimately embracing community where Randall will inspire fear and adulation, win the love of a beautiful girl and nearly throw it all away.
In this pitch-perfect novel, Tom McNeal explores the currents of hope, passion, and cruelty beneath the surface of the American heartland. In Randall, McNeal creates an outcast whose redemption lies in Goodnight, a strange, small, but ultimately embracing community where Randall will inspire fear and adulation, win the love of a beautiful girl and nearly throw it all away.
Goodnight, Nebraska was first published by Random House in 1998 and is available in hardcover, paperback, and as an ebook. It has been translated into German as Der Bus nach Nirgendwo.