Herb ’n’ Lorna

On the surface, Herb and Lorna’s story seems like an American myth: small-town origins, Jazz Age romance, Depression trials, and postwar prosperity. By the 1950s, they seem to be a typically sunny American couple. Herb sells Studebakers to the citizens of Babbington, a Long Island seaside town, and Lorna is his cheerfully coy and clever wife. However, after Herb and Lorna have died, their grandson, Peter Leroy, discovers, “that my maternal grandparents were involved in—virtually the creators of—the animated erotic jewelry industry.” “Herb ’n’ Lorna is a historical farce, a comedy of four generations of happy errors. This very funny novel — as graceful, complicated and exhilarating as a quadrille — is an appreciation of folly." Cathleen Schine The New York Times Book Review (front page review) “Herb ’n’ Lorna is a classic. Savor it.” Andrei Codrescu, National Public Radio A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR