"Larry's Party" , a 1997 novel by Carol Shields, is a humorous treatment of an ordinary young man who reaches the height of his powers in his mid forties after two marriages and a loving relationship. Set in two cities, Winnigeg and Chicago, the book is concerned mainly about how Larry, brought up by a working-class couple who emigrated from England, found fulfillment in creating mazes. First fascinated by the labryinth he visited in Hampton Court on his honeymoon, he planted a maze in his yard in Winnepeg. When Dorrie , his wife, destroyed his creation, he fled to Chicago, armed only with a commission from a rich benefactor. Describing his road to success, the author takes fugue-like riffs on such topics as Larry's penis and
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his wardrobe with humourous effects. This is one of Shield's masterpieces.
The review of this Book prepared by Betty-Jeanne Korson