THE NEW NOVEL BY DARRIN DOYLE
[ H O M E ]
NOW AVAILABLE - Revenge of the Teacher's Pet: A Love Story
THE NEW NOVEL BY DARRIN DOYLE
Fifty-year-old science teacher Dale Portwit believes that the peak of his life has come and gone. A failed suicide, a food fetishist, so isolated that the Best Man at his wedding is a framed photograph of his former mailman, Mr. Portwit resolves to live entirely for the moment, to speak his mind at each turn no matter what the consequences. He sets his sights upon Mary Ann Tucker, Elkhart Elementary’s plump, accommodating third-grade teacher. Their whirlwind courtship leads to wedding bands, a house in the suburbs, and an indulgent sex life—so why aren’t they happy? Perhaps a little revenge is just what this marriage needs.
Decidedly odd, yet also oddly moving, Revenge of the Teacher’s Pet is a skillful mix of comedy, poignancy, love, memory, obesity, top-ten lists, fish, and murder.
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“Darrin Doyle's startling first novel is dirty and sweet, funny and terrifying. But above all else, it's one of a kind: I've never read a book like Revenge of the Teacher’s Pet, one that so daringly and empathetically depicts the sometimes messed up, sometimes beautiful things we do in the name of love”
—Brock Clarke
Author of An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England
“[This] is the kind of quirky, subversively off-center novel that page by page accumulates what becomes a sustained inner hilarity. It’s a story that requires perfect tonal pitch, and Darrin Doyle, in this his first novel, makes that look easy.”
—Stuart Dybek
Author of The Coast of Chicago
“A deftly made, raucous tale of love and its attendant hungers and humiliations. Doyle has conceived original characters in that 'poor twit' Mr. Portwit and his fleshy wife, Mary Ann, whose bodily sacrifices in the name of love—self-love and other—are, finally, heartbreaking.”
—Christine Schutt
Author of Florida, a National Book Award finalist
“This wacky and philosophical story suggests that the secret to a contented life may not be so different than the one employed in education: let’s simply lower our standards. That said, this is also a convincing tale of romantic love.”
—Bonnie Jo Campbell
Author of Q Road
[ N E W S ]
09.09.09 - Interview in Keyhole Magazine
Darrin answers a series of questions from writer Molly Gaudry in the current issue of Keyhole Magazine. In doing so, we discover secrets regarding his path to becoming a writer as well as what influenced his creation of the characters in Revenge of the Teacher's Pet. There's also a sneaky look of sorts at his upcoming novel, The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo, (due on St. Martin's Press in early 2010). Read it for yourself HERE.
05.31.09 - New York Times 'Sunday Book Review'
Revenge of the Teacher's Pet was recently featured in the marginally well-known New York Times Sunday Book Review, where it was deemed "...an original tale that earns its readers’ trust, and breaks their hearts a little in the process." Read the rest of Joseph Salvatore's review HERE.
04.20.09 - 'Revenge...' reviewed on 2theadvocate.com
Greg Langley is crowing over Revenge of the Teacher's Pet over at 2theadvocate.com. "...one of the funniest, most satirical books to come out in years." he says. "A coup for LSU Press... " he writes and more. Read the whole review HERE.
04.17.09 - Interview with The Kalamazoo Gazette
To help promote his appearance last week at the Gwen Frostic Reading Series, Darrin was peppered with questions from John Liberty of Kalamazoo's Gazette. Read the resulting article HERE.
04.01.09 - Author Q&A on The Writing Porch
Darrin was recently interviewed by author J. Louise Anderson on her blog The Writing Porch. Read it HERE.
