(Algonquin Books)
Mike Muñoz is a regular guy. He’s had more than his fair share of setbacks and hard luck, and he is ready for things to go his way. He’s young, but too old to be still living at home helping take care of his older brother who isn’t able to do so himself. He’s just lost his poorly-paying job as a landscaper, because he refused to scoop poop. His truck broke down and his lawn mower is stolen. Mike. He just wants to be a winner. He wants to be climb out of the slot life has placed him in, and make a real go of it. Muñoz is a talented landscaper, he dreams of creating topiaries as magnificent as the ones he’s seen in photos of Disneyland. He’s any man and every man and his journey is authentic, moving, funny and heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful. If you haven’t read author Jonathan Evison’s books yet, the time is now. The New York Times described his earlier novel, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, as “stealthily powerful … so poignant yet improbably funny” and Lawn Boy is already racking up accolades from authors and reviewers alike.
— Reviewed by Jenny Lyons of The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury
 
 
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