(novel, 1992)
A woman undergoes
dream deprivation in order to discover the identity of a man her
husband is obsessed with. A comic satire about husbands and wives,
female friendship, daughters and mothers, obsessive love, malls,
agoraphobia, and psychological scrutiny in a suburban age.
Out of print.
Reviews
"Spin
Dry . . . is not merely fun, it's downright funny; it produced
in this reader audible, frequent, and admiring laughter. . . .
It's an energetically imaginative, precisely focused satire, with
a delightful sense of comic timing. . . . Though [Hollingshead]
finds targets everywhere, he's never cruel for the sake of the
joke; he seems to be working a deep vein of amused and psychologically
acute compassion." -- Douglas Hill, Books in Canada.
"Spin
Dry is a wacky, wonderful, rowdy, comic novel . . . a wonderfully
inventive, gentle satire, delivered in a fresh and vivid voice."
-- Sandra Birdsell, Books in Canada
"This is a
voice that deserves hearing, and Spin Dry is full of
razor-sharp observations that draw blood." -- The Fiddlehead
"What a weird,
deceptive book. Spin Dry is wry and wild, the literary
equivalent of shotgun art . . . [T]he suburbs haven't really been
done this way before. . . . Spin Dry is impressive writing:
funny, mean, impressive prose, a session with a crazed shrink,
a spin doctor tunneling hellishly under the developers' guilt
and greed and the innocence and angst-ridden desire of the postwar
suburban dream of flight, refuge, home sweet home." -- Mark Anthony
Jarman, The Calgary Herald
"Brilliant
and funny. Every line sparkles with originality and intelligence. Spin Dry is inspired, hilarious and macabre. It is fabulous.
One of the most original books ever to come out of this country."
-- Barbara Gowdy
"Hollingshead's
light touch disguises an almost cruelly uncompromising honesty.
. . . Watch yourself question everything you think is real." --
The Edmonton Journal
