THE PECCADILLOES OF FILAMENA PHIPPS
Publisher: Stairwell Books
Description
When the lines between the ordinary and the magical blur, what does it really mean to belong? Filamena Phipps, née Ferayinskela, doesn’t ‘fit’ in North Chelsea, an affluent community which prizes homogeneity. She tries to accommodate her neighbors but to them, she’s different; she’s a threat. Filamena isn’t daunted. Kicking out her cheating husband, she runs for mayor, hoping to find the acceptance that eludes her. As Filamena’s campaign takes off, so does her overgrown garden, disrupting the order of her neighborhood. How much more change – more Filamena – can her neighbors possibly take?
A literary satire about suburban small-mindedness and obsessiveness with control, an immigrant woman from an unnamed country is snubbed by both her abusive American husband and the community she lands in, struggles to find her way, and in that struggle builds a community around her.
Literary Reviews
“The interaction is often hilarious and reveals how kowtowing a group of
social climbers can be. I thoroughly enjoyed this book that kept me laughing
and turning pages. I highly recommend this unique novel.”
–John G. Bluck,
author of the Luke Ryder mystery-thriller series of novels
“A powerful story with a quirky, engaging main character and antagonists with
qualities that we recognize in the people who surround us.”
—Peter M. Quint,
author of the Resilient Silence Series
This great story is timely, pitch perfect as medicine for our country, and a real pleasure to read. This nuanced book puts us into the lives of characters in Anywhere, USA who think, talk and walk in monoculture while the lead character discovers courage to value her own nature through creative personal and collective action to share Nature with her neighbors. This book quietly reminds readers what life beyond intimidation looks like, seeds, weeds, wonderful surprises and all.
—Antonia Rathbun Lindsey, author of Parenting Your Porcupine: A Toolkit for Children with FASD, Other Drug Effects & Neurodiversity
What a magical, and beautifully written book!
—Marianne Pestana, Show Host of Moments with Marianne Radio Show on KMET 1490AM & 98.1FM, an ABC News Radio Affiliate
