Joy in Mudville

JOY / / It's 1932 and a new star has risen from the east, arching toward Los Angeles. / / A man, woman and child set off by rail from Chicago to follow the star. / / Along the way they'll meet figures from the pantheon of the American imagination -- figures who make us the people we are today: Woody Guthrie, Clark Kent, Al Capone, Babe Ruth, the Wizard of Oz and the ghost of Abner Doubleday. / / And when the three find their fates, the stars that guide us all will be forever changed. / / / 'An absolutely joyful novel . . . wonderfully funny and uplifting. A mixture of fact and fantasy, fiction and frolic, this novel skips, jumps, and ultimately flies.' / -- West Coast Review of Books / / 'A fast-moving and entertaining romp across country and through time.' / -- Los Angeles Times / / 'McAlpine is a gifted stylist, with clean, clear and muscular prose.' / -- Publisher's Weekly / / 'A quirky, quixotic tale . . . Unusual and entertaining.' / -- Library Journal