Heart of Junk, Luke Geddes
Heart of Junk, Luke Geddes
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Heart of Junk

Author: Luke Geddes

Narrator: Samantha Desz, Arthur Morey, George Newbern, Rebekkah Ross, Jacques Roy

Unabridged: 7 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/21/2020


Synopsis

A hilarious debut novel about an eclectic group of merchants at a Kansas antique mall who become implicated in the kidnapping of a local beauty pageant star.

The city of Wichita, Kansas, is wracked with panic over the abduction of toddler pageant princess Lindy Bobo. However, the dealers at The Heart of America Antique Mall are too preoccupied by their own neurotic compulsions to take much notice. Postcards, perfume bottles, Barbies, vinyl records, kitschy neon beer signs—they collect and sell it all.

Rather than focus on Lindy, this colorful cast of characters is consumed by another drama: the impending arrival of Mark and Grant from the famed antiques television show Pickin’ Fortunes, who are planning to film an episode at The Heart of America and secretly may be the last best hope of saving the mall from bankruptcy. Yet the mall and the missing beauty queen have more to do with each other than these vendors might think, and before long, the group sets in motion a series of events that lead to surprising revelations about Lindy’s whereabouts. As the mall becomes implicated in her disappearance, will Mark and Grant be scared away from all of the drama or will they arrive in time to save The Heart of America from going under?

Equally comical and suspenseful, Heart of Junk is also a biting commentary on our current Marie Kondo era. It examines why certain objects resonate with us so deeply, rebukes Kondo’s philosophy of wholesale purging, and argues that “junk” can have great value—connecting us not only to our personal pasts but to our shared human history. As author Luke Geddes writes: “A collection was a record of a life lived, maybe not well or happily but at least with attention and passion. It was autobiography made whole.”

About Luke Geddes

Luke Geddes holds a PhD in comparative literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. Originally from Appleton, Wisconsin, he now lives Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the author of the short story collection I am a Magical Teenage Princess and his writing has appeared in ConjunctionsMid-American ReviewHayden’s Ferry ReviewWashington Square ReviewThe Comics JournalElectric Literature, and elsewhere.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jodi on January 29, 2020

As I was reading this, I was finishing the process of unpacking both my own and some of my late mother's possessions into a new apartment. (Moving really cuts into your reading time, by the way.) There's nothing like moving to make you wonder why you have what you have ("OK, I declare a moratorium o......more

Goodreads review by Deedi on January 12, 2020

All my reviews live at [URL not allowed] TL;DR review: Heart of Junk is a laugh-inducing, refreshing little story that will tug at your heart strings harder than you expect. Every character is weird a lovable and well-written. I loved it. For you if: You’re looking for a good giggle, a......more

Goodreads review by Molly on February 15, 2020

I was so primed to enjoy this book. As a 45 year old vinyl collector with the heart of a punk and a penchant for MCM and antique malls who lives in Wichita, KS, I was ready to poke fun of myself, smile, and enjoy a light ride. I saw the author speak at Watermark in Wichita during a small ice flurry.......more

Goodreads review by Jean on February 08, 2020

3.5 stars. Luke Geddes is a 2011 graduate of Wichita State's MFA in creative writing program. I had a chance to hear him speak a couple of weeks ago at our local bookstore. In person, he is funny and warm with a dry wit and he surely has a bright future. The book though is odd and quirky; set in a f......more

Goodreads review by Alex on January 15, 2020

very funny and a very full 240 pages and plotty (I love plot). I don’t have to care about what happens to enjoy a book or even be particularly curious, but I did care and was curious. Read in two sittings if such a metric holds weight for you.......more


Quotes

"An ensemble of narrators works together to memorably portray life at a failing antiques mall in Wichita, Kansas. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of seven characters. Particularly impressive is the consistent presentation of these characters, who interact with each other in every chapter, by all the narrators. While each narrator is excellent, standout performances come from Arthur Morey's rendering of the befuddled widower, Ronald, along with Samantha Desz's evocation of the judgmental Margaret and conveyance of Delores, who has a unique relationship with her Barbie doll collection. The anticipated arrival of two 'Antique Roadshow' style television hosts, as well as the disappearance of a child pageant princess, keeps this darkly comedic audiobook moving at an engaging pace."