Herb Piper lives with his clever and vivacious wife, Lorna, in the tranquil, seaside Long Island town of Babbington. Herb sells Studebakers, putters in his basement, fancies himself an inventor, and struggles against his habit of making bad investments. Bright afternoons and well-tended lawns fill the couple’s quiet, unassuming life, the very picture of Norman Rockwell’s America. But Herb and Lorna have concealed from each other a pair of curious secrets, deceptions at the heart of a marriage that register the delightful, universal mystique of human sexuality. A funny, poignant, and surprising love story, Herb ’n’ Lorna gently unravels the mysteries—logical and illogical — that bind two people through the years. “When Peter Leroy discovers that his late grandparents had been leaders of the animated erotic jewelry industry, he is forced to change his views about them. Clearly, this man and woman were not merely his comfy Gumma and Guppa; they were also lively, passionate people with a secret history. When Peter sets off to learn this history, he meets Herb ’n’ Lorna. He traces their romance, the events that led them down such a wildly improbable path, and their recipe for a joyful life. Their whimsical world makes for marvelous reading and kept me smiling for days.” — Elizabeth West, winner of the Eric Kraft Reader Blurb Contest
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"A young man delves into the life of his grandparents and discovers the secrets they kept from one another for many years. Great book." — Joann (4 out of 5 stars)
"A young man delves into the life of his grandparents and discovers the secrets they kept from one another for many years. Great book."
“As graceful, exhilerating, and complicated as a quadrille.”
“Both marvelously sly and enormously good-natured.”
“A classic. Savor it.”
“A damn sexy book.”
" more like 3.75. good, but i kept wondering about the plausibility "
" Not my favorite Eric Kraft, but definitely worth reading. A young man learns that his grandparents have scandalous pasts. "
" A fun and entertaining read! "
" Couldn't put this one down! Be warned: while it is about a couple who creates and sells erotic goods, it is NOT an erotic novel. "
" Delightful! Thanks for the recommendation, Nora! "
" This was a cute, funny story in the vein of John Updike. This story deal with the secret of the married couple but is also the story of a marriage. A cute fun read. "
" A wonderfully quirky take on America during and in between the war years! I love the portrayal of Herb and Lorna's marriage. "
" I didn't hate this, but it wasn't compelling, and I almost quit @ 86%. I rarely abandon books, certainly not that far into them, but I almost did. "
Eric Kraft grew up in Babylon, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island, where he was for a time co-owner and co-captain of a clam boat, which sank. He studied English at Harvard, where he invented the character Peter Leroy while dozing over a German lesson during his first year. The following year, he married his muse, Madeline Canning; they now have two sons. After earning a Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Kraft taught school in the Boston area for a while, moonlighting as a rock music critic for the Boston Phoenix. After a series of positions in editing and publishing, Kraft and his wife founded Kraft & Kraft, an editorial-services company for educational publishers. He is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and was, briefly, chairman of PEN New England. He is also a recipient of the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature.
Allan Robertson is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.
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