Pretty Ugly

First-time novelist Thomas James Whiting has recently been spending time tracking down a suitable genre for his just completed novel now that literary fiction's definition has undergone controversy over what should and should not be included in the arena that was once ruled by the synonym for literature. Whiting grew up in Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin and vividly recalls the first description of literary fiction thrown his way...character-driven rather than plot-driven...that which examines the human condition. He left Weyerhaeuser over sixty years ago. Apparently, the driven metaphor is still working in his mind. The clown car novel as a genre. There is no trick to the clown car gag. There are no trap doors in the sawdust floors. The cars are not only real but they are fully functional. Sure, all the interior stuff is removed and everything that can be taken out is taken out so that the clowns can be stuffed in. The windows are painted except for a small slot for the driver to see through. The reader who picks up Pretty Ugly is asked to drive slowly and only to the center of the ring. Everything that you have that makes you the person you are more than qualifies you to get everything that is gettable. A novel should be an encounter, the practice of participating. Whiting claims that all your experiences will make his novel better. Pretty Ugly is a work of fiction that re-creates a social world, conveying with finely tuned observation the customs, values, and ethics of a highly complex tiny portion of collegiate society in the late sixties.