Great American Plain A Novel
Great American Plain by Gary Sernovitz, published by Henry Holt and Company on October 16, 2001, is a novel that explores the lives of two brothers, Edward and Barry Steinke, as they navigate their ambitions and personal struggles at a Midwestern state fair. At 224 pages, this first edition presents Edward’s unwavering belief in “Perfect Execution,” a sales technique he clings to while selling piano organs, despite its ineffectiveness. The narrative unfolds through the perspectives of their parents, customers, and ex-girlfriends, revealing the complexities of their identities and relationships.
Readers will find a rich exploration of ambition, familial bonds, and the quest for self-understanding within the context of the fair’s vibrant atmosphere. The characters grapple with their dreams and disappointments, particularly as Barry’s infatuation with Leila Genet intertwines with Edward’s own feelings of doubt and desire. The novel delves into themes of personal fulfillment and the search for happiness, all while maintaining a humorous tone that highlights Sernovitz’s unique voice in contemporary fiction.
Official synopsis Publisher
Edward Steinke, with all the ambition and steadfastness of his 24 years, believes in only one thing: Perfect Execution. This is the sales technique from the 1954 masterpiece Classic Sales: Theory and Technique, Ed’s secular New Testament. Unfortunately for Ed, he is selling the Brackett 180-X piano organ at the South Exhibition Hall of a large Midwestern state fair, and Perfect Execution is proving perfectly useless. Barry Steinke, Ed’s sullen, cocky younger brother and employee, is less than supportive: having already surrendered his adolescent dreams of becoming a rockabilly superstar with his group, The Hotels, he cannot understand Ed’s commitment to professional success. Through the eyes of their parents, customers, and ex-girlfriends, we come to see that, in Ed and Barry’s running struggle, what is at stake is nothing less than their conception of themselves and the world.
Between the brothers comes Leila Genet, imaginative but timid, frozen by life, who wanders the hall looking to escape into “the stupid happiness of the Fair.” Barry falls in love with her. Ed falls into doubt, debt, and-perhaps-in love with Leila too. And then comes the surprisingly difficult matter of convincing Leila that neither of them are, in fact, as maladjusted as they seem.
Great American Plain is a cross between John Updike’s The Poorhouse Fair and Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine-and, with its large cast, deeply humane vision, and three unforgettable characters, it establishes Gary Sernovitz not only as a uniquely gifted writer but one of the funniest voices to appear in years.
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