7-8 pm, Thursday, May 4, 2023
Cincinnati author John Young will read selections from his latest novel, "Getting Huge." This romp of a novel is for all who have worked with the wrong people in the wrong place. And ached to escape—to start something new—to find a sense of belonging.
In Getting Huge, John Young explores both existential and moral issues in a way that’s humorous, entertaining, and ultimately moving. Bottom line, it’s a terrific yarn well told. — Angelo Pizzo, Screenwriter of the films Rudy and Hoosiers
Beaten down by his affluent and perpetually disappointed deacons, six-foot-eleven Reverend John Crackstone finally cracks. What begins as backyard diversion swells into an absurd obsession: to grow the world’s largest pumpkin and, with the help of an entrepreneur friend, build a pumpkin empire that wins him fame and fortune. Crackstone sees his pumpkins, especially the giant named Schwartz, as his shot at greatness and escape.
While often comic, Getting Huge is also a cautionary tale for our times. The pursuit of ill-defined success overrides judgment—until we, like John Crackstone, are jolted into clarity and head for the hills—spawning the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, and the gig economy. (And just maybe spiking the price of giant pumpkin seeds.)