Synopses & Reviews
Each of the tales in Wingtips, the first collection of short stories by bright new talent Avery Chenoweth, focuses on members of the Goodpasture family and their search for love, a sense of belonging, and, ultimately, spiritual transformation. From the rarified atmosphere of Martha's Vineyard and the near-tropical lushness of the Tennessee mountains to the streets of Washington, D.C., the debutante balls of Jacksonville, and the stark emptiness of Oklahoma, Chenoweth chronicles the dreams and ambitions of characters fumbling their way toward the responsibilities of maturity.
Chenoweth has created a colorful cast of characters from across the social and geographic spectrum: Yankee blue bloods summering at the Vineyard, a faith healer who lays hands on fast food restaurants as well as people, a man willing to sacrifice his children's inheritance so that Jesus will lead them to oil, a young adult who discovers his true love only to learn that she is his half-sister, a boy whose game of espionage puts an end to his innocence, and a man who pretends to be his own double at a college reunion. These stories also skirt the fantastic, with scenes of a child hiding in a grave, people attacking their guest at the dinner table, and a party of ghosts arriving for lunch. Comic and yet poignant, Wingtips explores the human heart in conflict with itself.
Review
"Chenoweth's 'novel-in-nine-stories' paints an often touching, always humorous picture of the Goodpasture family, as they move, one by one, from the Tennessee mountains to the invisible social underbelly of Martha's Vineyard to the revolving doors of Washington, D.C. Stuart Goodpasture, who first appears dressed as a super hero in 'Powerman' and later pretends to be his own double at a college reunion, wants to fall in love. In the title story, his brother, Jay, seeks maturity in a pair of shoes. Sister Moriah wants her father to go to hell and the family patriarch, divorced and deluded, wants to use his children's inheritance so Jesus can help him find oil in Oklahoma. These are the Goodpastures Avery Chenoweth has created. Wingtips is ingenious in its form, graceful in its telling and its author is deserving of the highest praise." Reviewed by Andrew Witmer, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)