The Coffins of Little Hope

Praise for THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE

"Sublime ...Piercing observations and sharp, subtle wit make this a standout."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"I LOVED COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE. I think this one is going to be big. Any bookseller who has lived through the Harry Potter craze will laugh out loud. You have the looking back and the looking forward. And a magic shop? It does not get better than that. There are Fannie Flagg tones. And the skewering of "precious" small towns. Great." - -Valerie Koehler, Blue Willow Books

Schaffert perfectly captures the clash of life in small towns today in COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE. Two events cause the small town where Ess Myles writes obituaries for the paper her family has owned for almost a hundred years to be caught in the spotlight-a local girl disappears (or does she?) and the final book in a popular children's book series (a la Harry Potter) is being printed on the presses of the family newspaper. When the furor fades and Ess' son decides to close the paper, Ess gives voice to millions who no longer have a voice, "What about all the things that aren't worth anything to anyone but us?" The story is poignant and memorable. - Vicki Erwin, Main Street Books

"I read this book in a growing state of appreciation for the high-wire act Schaffert was attempting to pull off - small town changes, missing daughters, spunky but still aging little old ladies, two completely different literary cult figures, and looming over it all, the question of what makes love work between two people and what makes a family. I loved it." - My3Books.com

PRAISE FOR THE WRITING OF

TIMOTHY SCHAFFERT

" Quixotic . . . Schaffert creates a comically mopey little burg full of whimsical dreams . . . [a] treat. The novel also . . . underscore(s) the fragility of life and the passage of time. The novel remains playful yet never far from these shadows. Mr. Schaffert does not take his material lightly. He only makes it seem that way." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"...boondocks-Gothic...quietly tragic...The sisters lose their childhood innocence only to acquire an adult version... As long as the sisters have each other, nothing else matters."

- The Washington Post

"The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God"...doesn't feed us its story as much as it serves a continual stream of delicacies until your head spins. Think of it as the literary equivalent of dim sum. A totally whacked-out yarn about a divorced couple who still haven't quite split up, Schaffert's book is both ruthlessly funny and utterly compassionate about his characters' ridiculous aspirations -- the main character sings country songs in a Ramada Inn, dreaming of making it big -- and tragic limitations."-Meghan Daum, Salon.com

"An unflinching tale of family heartache."-Out Magazine

"One has to admire an author who sets his first novel in rural Nebraska. That landscape was put on the literary map a century ago by Willa Cather ... in The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters by Timothy Schaffert, a narrative both sweet and audacious unfolds, encroaching Cather's pinnacle just a bit. ... I wanted to know what becomes of these brave and funny sisters. The descriptive gifts of the author are great." - United Press International

"Laced with hope and an aching sweetness, it is as whimsical and smile-inducing as its title. Readers will fall for Hud, his family, and the one-off inhabitants of the quirky little town from page one owing to Schaffert's homey yet elegant and precise prose.

The only reason to put the book down is to make it last."-Library Journal, starred

"Timothy Schaffert is a delightful and startling new voice ... [The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters] avoids even a hint of pathos while sometimes being sad, often funny, and extraordinarily seductive. This book is quite an achievement." - Robb Forman Dew (winner of the National Book Award)

"Quirky, witty, and with a wondrous sense of place, this is a novel to curl up with."

- Taconic Weekend

"[A] quirky tragicomedy."-Time Out Chicago

"Achy-breaky dysfunction drives a messy, funny family drama in this small town Nebraska tale, told in a winning faux-naïve style...film, along with music, plays a wonderful incidental role throughout...Deft, sweet and surprising."-Publishers Weekly

"A worthy first novel ... The characters are flawed but believable, vulnerable but resilient."

- The Post & Courier

"An honest and unflinching story of families unraveled and the heartache and joy only loved ones can spark in each other. With skill and tenderness...Schaffert unfolds his characters' hopes, strengths, and frailties in this gorgeous novel..."-Jennie Shortridge, author of Eating Heaven and Riding With the Queen

"An elegantly written olio of country music, heartbreak and gospel singing groups, of children and their tired fathers who may yet have the time and talent to get their lives straight....a cracking good read."-The Omaha World-Herald

"I can't get over the delight of Tim Schaffert's new novel, with an instantly appealing cast of characters that won my heart so quickly and thoroughly. And the ending, as sweet and transcendent as any I can remember, lifted me right out of my chair."-Gerald Shapiro

"Poignant...This splendid new book echoes the wacky humor of Schaffert's first book- "The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters" - and yet both treat seriously the complexity of family ties that persist against all odds."-The Lincoln-Journal Star

"What makes it work is Schaffert's deep understanding of (and compassion for) his characters, with all their irrationalities and contradictions. Though the plot allows Schaffert to display his sharp sense of irony and humor, ultimately it is the characters themselves that drive the story...a talented novelist with a style all his own."-Nebraska Life Magazine

"[Y]ou'll be singing its praises."- The Bookworm Sez

"The characters populating Timothy Schaffert's The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God may not be particularly likeable, yet somehow they're impossible not to love....Heart-rending...an honest story with just a touch honky-tonk."-BookPage

"Timothy Schaffert writes with an amazing kind of heartbreaking clarity and warmth. Just when I'm sure tragedy is about to strike a character I've grown to love, something wonderful happens and humor and hope shine through. The beauty of Timothy's writing is that it can speak with equal tenderness to members of a book club who have been meeting since 1947 and a young, urban hipster who might just be too cool to read anything but Bukowski or Burroughs."

-Rivkah K. Sass, Executive Director, Omaha Public Library and Library Journal's "Librarian of the Year 2006."

"[A] tender, thoughtful examination of parents and children. I thought it expertly captured that duality we parents all face: our fierce desire to protect and love our children, contrasted with the damage we sometimes inflict upon them, despite our best intentions...In the end I cared so much about these characters I wanted to wrap my arms around them and take them home with me. I can't wait until Schaffert's next book."-Melanie Lynne Hauser, author of Confessions of a Super Mom