All We Had: A Novel

All We Had: A Novel

The stunning debut novel from sculptor and painter Annie Weatherwax, a wry and sharply observed portrait of a gritty mother and daughter, living on the edge of poverty, who find an unlikely home amid the quirky residents of small town America.

For thirteen-year-old Ruthie Carmichael and her mother, Rita, life has never been stable. The only sure thing is their love for each other. Though Rita works more than one job, the pair teeters on the edge of poverty. When their landlord kicks them out, Rita resorts to her movie-star looks and produces carpet-installer Phil, "an instant boyfriend," who takes them in.

Before long, Ruthie convinces her mother to leave and in their battered Ford Escort, they head East in search of a better life. When money runs out and their car breaks down, they find themselves stranded in a small town called Fat River where their luck finally takes a turn. Rita lands a steady job waitressing at Tinyâ€™s, the local diner. With enough money to pay their bills, they rent a house and Fat River becomes the first place they call home.

Peter Pam, Tinyâ€™s transgender waitress and the novelâ€™s voice of warmth and reason, becomes Ruthieâ€™s closest friend. Arlene, the no-nonsense head waitress, takes Rita under her wing. The townspeopleâ€”Hank and Dotty Hanson, the elderly owners of the embattled local hardware store, and even their chatter-mouth neighbor Pattiâ€”become Ruthie and Ritaâ€™s family.

Into this quirky utopia comes smooth-talking mortgage broker Vick Ward, who entices Rita with a subprime loan. Why rent when you can own? Almost as soon as Rita buys a house their fortunes change. Faced once again with the prospect of homelessness, Rita reverts to survival mode, and the price she pays to keep them out of poverty changes their lives forever.

Accomplished visual artist Annie Weatherwax has written a stunning, heartrending first novel. Ruthieâ€™s wry voice and razor sharp observations about American life in the twenty-first century infuse the prose with disarming honesty and humor. All We Had heralds the arrival of a powerful new voice in contemporary fiction.
Country USA
Brand Scribner Book Company
Manufacturer Scribner
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2014-08-05
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781476755205

Country	USA
Brand	Scribner Book Company
Manufacturer	Scribner
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2014-08-05
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781476755205

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