Hunk City Hardcover - 2007

by James Wilcox

A writer who Anne Tyler says has 'real comic genius' returns with a brilliant new novel of the culture wars in the Deep South

James Wilcox's novels, with their trademark blend of humor and compassion, have been lauded by critics and readers alike. In Hunk City, Wilcox takes us to southeast Louisiana, where Burma van Buren, thanks to a recent inheritance, is the wealthiest woman in St. Jude Parish. Still working at a bargain store, Burma is having trouble finding the right charity with which to share her fortune. As she tries to keep hope alive and convert the citizens of Tula Springs to a radical faith-based egalitarian democracy, Burma becomes entangled with a certain Dr. Schine, her landscape designer, though she hasn't resolved her life-long passion for Mr. Pickens, who up and married a severe evangelical from a neighboring town. Meanwhile, Mr. Harper, Burma's staunch Republican accountant with eyelashes to die for, works to keep her money out of the hands of the local Democrats. Will Burma find happiness with either Dr. Schine or Mr. Pickens? Will Burma ever find a suitable place for her millions? In Hunk City, James Wilcox brings his unique humorous touch to a topic that sorely needs it.