Miss Undine's Living Room

A candidate for the office of Superintendent of Streets, Parks, and Garbage, middle-aged matron Olive Mackie of Tula Springs, Louisiana, finds her political aspirations thwarted when her ninety-one-year-old Great Uncle L.D. comes under suspicion for murder. Police don't believe that L.D.'s home-care attendant would commit suicide by jumping from a second-floor window -- but Olive, who has heard her uncle demonstrate his excellent memory by reciting important dates in history over and over, thinks he would. Before justice can be done, half the staff of City Hall, a home ec teacher, an uninspired dentist, the principal of a disreputable private school, and several adulterous housewives are implicated in James Wilcox's spectacular plot. His third Tula Springs novel, Miss Undine's Living Room is not only a masterful comedy, exuberant and irreverent, but also a deeply felt examination of the education of the mind and the spirit.

Author: James Wilcox
Publisher: LSU Press
Published: 03/01/2001
Pages: 275
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.74lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.51w x 0.61d
ISBN: 9780807126998

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2001 pg. 703

About the Author

James Wilcox is the author of eight novels, including North Gladiola, Modern Baptists, Guest of a Sinner, and, most recently, Heavenly Days. He is Robert Penn Warren Professor and director of creative writing at Louisiana State University and lives in Baton Rouge.