{"product_id":"9781453292976","title":"Family Reunion: And Other Stories","description":"Bob Otis, an unmarketable author who is just starting his own publishing company in order to get his latest novels in print, is abruptly sidetracked when a relative, so distant that Otis doesn’t even place him, phones from Chicago with a request: his father, who has just died, wishes to be buried in the family plot in a small town in Georgia.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This call leads to another wonderful comedy of manners as Otis, whose Southern sense of obligations won’t permit him to totally avoid this undertaking, is reluctantly sucked into a family reunion at the burial site: a burial attended by a cast of wonderfully eccentric characters who also have no knowledge of the deceased.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This novella is a direct descendant of Fleming’s earlier comic novels: \u003ci\u003eColonel Effingham’s Raid\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLucinderella\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eCaptain Bennett’s Folly\u003c\/i\u003e. Indeed, many of the zany, colorful, and irreverent characters of \u003ci\u003eLucinderella\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCaptain Bennett\u003c\/i\u003e make their reappearances here, as does his fictional town of Fredericksville.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In many ways, this novel is reminiscent of Federico Fellini’s film classic \u003ci\u003e8 1\/2\u003c\/i\u003e, where the Italian director is surrounded by the characters in his life and in his films. Fleming (who was also forced to self-publish his books during his decades of anonymity) brings to life his roots and his creations with a fine mixture of satire, reflection, and nostalgia.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In addition to \u003ci\u003eFamily Reunion\u003c\/i\u003e are some fine examples of the author’s gift for short fiction: pieces that touch the heart, the funny bone, and the imagination.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"The Permanent Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47128680268016,"sku":"9781453292976","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781453292976_p0.jpg?v=1763849657","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781453292976","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}