A comic
drama about philosophy, family, religion,
and, of course, professional wrestling.
Barely
adequate philosophy professor Legare Hume has a mind-body
problem. No matter how far he goes, no matter how hard he
thinks, he can’t escape the world he lives in. On the
run from his wife Tally, Legare joins brilliant but exceptionally
awkward colleague Saul Grossman to attend the American Philosophical
Association’s Charleston, SC conference, where worlds
and walks of life collide in a strange and satirical amalgamation
that can only be described as reality.
Legare’s mission is simple enough: put
up with the conference, read a paper he never thought anyone
would want to hear, receive the tenure he isn’t sure
he wants, and return, or not, to the wife who nearly killed
him before he left. But his plans are hijacked by a botched
hotel reservation and the all-too-convenient presence of the
Southern family Legare has worked very hard all his adult
life to avoid.
Circumstances—namely the inconvenient
death of a mentally challenged uncle— bring the whole
family together: Mama and the Old Man, his backwards but well-meaning
parents; too-religious Aunt Arlene and irritating Uncle Spessard;
and Uncle Rembert, whose shady goings-on may force Legare
to actually take action for once in his passive life. The
only two family members he can tolerate are his sensible sister
Willie, and her endearing son Unitas.
Meanwhile, wrestlers in the guise of religious
figures enact the Apocalypse. Wrestlers philosophize and philosophers
wrestle. The mind-body argument is solved, then unsolved,
then solved again. Dismantled theories are defended at gunpoint.
Philosophical celebrities are created through competitive
tic-tac-toe matches.
And through it all, there’s Lucian, Legare’s
late brother, who killed himself years ago. What does his
death mean? What’s the family secret Legare has been
hiding from? What’s there to learn from this rapid-fire
collision of worlds, where all kinds of people and all kinds
of views are inherently and bizarrely connected? And what
will it take for Legare to be both in and of the world?
Hume’s Fork is a brilliantly
satirical and philosophical novel, every bit as funny as it
is intelligent—a true original. Legare’s conflict—Hume’s
fork, if you will— becomes the reader’s, for all
worlds are one, and nothing can truly be separate from everything
else.
To Buy "Hume's Fork"
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book(s) by phone, call Bancrofts toll-free number at
800-637-7377. If, for some reason, no live person answers,
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About Ron Cooper
A
South Carolina native, Ron Cooper received a Ph.D. in philosophy
from Rutgers University and now teaches at Central Florida
Community College.
He is the author of a number of philosophical
essays in academic journals, such as the Journal of Speculative
Philosophy and Philosophy Today, as well as the book Heidegger
and Whitehead: A Phenomenological Examination into the Intelligibility
of Experience (Ohio University Press).
His short stories have appeared in Yalobusha
Review, Timber Creek Review, Apostrophe, and The
Blotter. With Hume’s Fork, which is his
first published novel, he was a finalist for the Bread Loaf
Conference's Bakeless Literary Prize.
A bluegrass enthusiast, he lives in Ocala, Florida,
with his wife and three children.
Read
praise for the book.
To Buy "Hume's Fork"
Click the button below or to purchase your
book(s) by phone, call Bancrofts toll-free number at
800-637-7377. If, for some reason, no live person answers,
leave your message in the Voicemail address for Ordering,
and someone will respond within 24 hours.
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