Description
Book SynopsisTess Wycheski is a standout bowler, just like her father before her. And just like her father, she is haunted and driven by the famous, career-ending humiliation he suffered at his first pro match. Joe teaches Tess that bowling is an art form and tries to coach her toward the success that eluded him. Then there's Leo Florida, the ex-hustler bowling coach who figured in Joe's youthful tournament disaster. No one knows why Leo abandoned his star student and his coaching job, where he went or what he has been doing all these years. But now he's back in Sandusky, Ohio, and offering to coach Tess with his hard-nosed, streetwise philosophy. Everything that happens between people is a deal struck, Leo tells Tess. Maybe for money, maybe for something else. Myself, I watch the money. Better odds. Can Tess trust Leo after what he did to her father? Tess wonders if Leo, for all of his tough-guy posturing, still harbors some secret pain from his past and maybe an unseen agenda for the future. As s
Trade ReviewMIDNIGHT BOWLING is a brimming, brilliant, deeply American novel rooted in family secrets, young love, and the dark legacy of war. Dalton unlocks long-held, closely guarded family secrets in multi-layered love stories that play out over generations while revealing the beauty of lifelong devotion set against the backdrop of small-town American life. Dalton's writing is genius, and, with this novel, she's proven to be a true literary force of nature. —Julianna Baggott Quinn Dalton gives us fascinating insights about bowling in this excellent novel, but she knows just as much about love’s complexities, particularly between fathers and their children. MIDNIGHT BOWLING rings true as a perfect strike. —Ron Rash Midnight Bowling is a terrific novel, not only a page turner, but a substantial piece of love-work. The characters are persons, not characters. The place is place, not setting. The story is convincing, sometimes scary, and often heartwarming. But it is bowling that holds the narrative together. When I felt the power of the sport take hold of me, I knew the book was a solid triumph. —Fred Chappell
