Publisher's Synopsis
Child prodigy Joshua Bland's life has been anything but bland. Joshua's father abandons him and his mentally imbalanced mother when he is a young boy, leaving him to be raised by a cynical, hostile, and self-doubting stepfather. When Joshua loses a national knowledge competition, his family's reaction puts him on the path to becoming a World War II veteran, bestselling author, successful producer, and absentee father. A Gay and Melancholy Sound is a stark, witty portrait of a man who has had a lifetime of extraordinary experiences, yet no emotional connection to any of it. Book Lust Rediscoveries is a series devoted to reprinting some of the best (and now out of print) novels originally published from 19602000. Each book is personally selected by NPR Commentator and Book Lust author Nancy Pearl and includes an introduction by her, as well as discussion questions for book groups and a list of recommended further reading.
