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Helen Chappell
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A
Whole World of Trouble
Simon & Schuster
May 2003
For years, Helen Chappell has delighted readers along the Eastern Shore with her local newspaper column of "short-short" fiction capturing the quirky character of her homeland-which she describes as "a sort of an island" between the Chesapeake Bay and miles densely mosquito-populated flat salt meadow-Oysterback, Maryland. At the same time, she has won fans nationwide with her novels of historical romance and mystery, including the acclaimed Giving Up the Ghost. Now, Chappell offers the whole wide reading world the rare treat of her first novel set in Oysterback-a funny and poignant story of two contrary sisters, their recently deceased mother, several infuriating men, and a Southern town with plenty of heart but no shame-A WHOLE WORLD OF TROUBLE (Simon & Schuster; May 2003; $23.00).
"The thing about death is it brings out the worst in everyone." That's what Carrie thinks as soon as she returns home, with the utmost reluctance, to attend her mother's funeral. First of all, there's the controversy over the exact cause of her mother's death-and the fate of her dead body. True to her life, Momma, a.k.a. Miss Audrey, died in the most unconventional way-in a bizarre accident with an alligator on a trip to Gator Gardens in Florida. To make a mortifying demise worse, her big bumbling brother abruptly decided to have Momma's body cremated-and then got into a scrap with airport security guards when her urn set off the metal detectors. Most of all, death-at least, this shocking, monumental death-has been bringing out the worst in Carrie's long-contentious relationship with her sister, Earlene.
Although a grown woman of 37, Carrie still gets treated like a child by her big sister. Perhaps it's because Carrie prefers to live in her office-her Econoline van-and drive up and down the Eastern Seaboard working as a glorified garbage picker. She buys and sells the stuff of nostalgia-dishes, dolls, the occasional Brady Bunch lunchbox-which occasionally attracts serious money from antique dealers. Single, childless, and defiantly bohemian, she would never admit to Earlene that she is lonely and desperately afraid of falling for the wrong man-like her Momma did, again and again. Of course, as Carrie tells herself, Earlene would never understand. Unlike Carrie or Miss Audrey, Earlene lives for the conventional. Married young for life, she never left Oysterback. She seems content to work in the View 'n' Chew, a combination video and sandwich shop, beside her dull husband and cater to her two demanding, not-so-little boys.
While awaiting the safe return of her mother's ashes from Florida, Carrie gets drawn into family drama-and a big mess of Momma's making. "A woman needs to have a man," Momma often said during her life. After the death of her first husband-the father Carrie lost when she was fifteen-Momma swiftly hooked up with a succession of losers. According to local gossip, Miss Audrey's two latest flames were Alonzo, the resident miscreant and a current resident of the state penitentiary, and Professor Jack Shepherd, a smart, attractive man young enough to be Momma's son. Beaten down by failure and boredom, Professor Jack lives, alone and unhappily, on his tiny boat. Miss Audrey had given both men carte blanche to sleep on her couch, if not her bed, whenever the need arose. To Carrie's dismay, both men turn up at her Momma's house-unaware of her death and counting on her help.
With humor, compassion, and abundant charm, A WHOLE WORLD OF TROUBLE follows Carrie as she grapples with her unsettling attraction to Professor Jack, an unwelcome onslaught of suddenly rekindled ardor from a now-married ex-boyfriend, and a roiling stew of consternation, anger, and grief over her Momma's poorly timed passing. To complicate matters, there's the tricky business of unraveling Alonzo's unlawful predicament and resolving her thorny relationship with Earlene. Readers will be surprised and enchanted by the way a heap of scandalous secrets and turbulent emotions eventually get sorted out. Conjuring up a cast of complicated, colorful, and heartwarming characters, with the distinctive flavor of Oysterback, Helen Chappell has created a wonderfully funny novel affirming the bonds of family and the power of love against the odds.
About the Author
HELEN CHAPPELL is a prolific author whose previous books include a mystery
series featuring Giving Up the Ghost, Ghost of a Chance, and Slow
Dancing with the Angel of Death; over a dozen historical romances;
one book of photography, The Chesapeake Book of the Dead; and two
hilarious works of regional fiction, Oysterback Tales and Oysterback
Spoken Here. A frequent contributor of lifestyle and news articles
to The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Chesapeake Bay Magazine,
she also writes a monthly column of short fiction and folklore about the
Eastern Shore for the Tidewater Times. She lives in Royal Oak, Maryland.
A WHOLE WORLD OF TROUBLE
A Novel
By Helen Chappell
Published by Simon & Schuster
May 2003
$23.00 Hardcover; 288 pages
ISBN: 0-7432-1529-X