Loudermilk— by Lucy Ives
(published by Catapult)
Loudermilk, aka Troy Augustus Loudermilk, first-year student in the Seminars for Writing, and his sidekick, Harry Rego, aka brains behind the buffoonery, bust onto the page larger than real-life and way more hilarious. Loudermilk has somehow managed to gain entrance to a ridiculously prestigious Midwestern, of course, writing program. The plan stays the same — Rego, quite possibly agoraphobic does the writing, and Loudermilk, shallow and handsome to a fault, in all his chiseled moronic glory, poses as the poet and they both get to continue living the life of a co-ed, albeit now in an MFA program. Enter stage right a further cast of characters including Clare Elwil, short story writer extraordinaire who is hiding a secret of her own, and the flustered Anton Beans, who was confident he would not be challenged in the poetry program. Lucy Ives peppers the pot with short stories written by Clare and “Loudermilk’s” poems mixed in the pages as well. This send-up of contemporary graduate writing programs and the characters they attract and create is sure to highly amuse any reader, especially those with a penchant for academia-set hijinks. Reminiscent of Michale Chabon, this highly original satiric novel is sharp-witted and adroit. Brava.
— Reviewed by Jenny Lyons of The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury
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