At the heart of Grouse County, in the American midwest, is an unforgettable triangle: Dan Norman, the county sheriff whose empathy exceeds his love for law enforcement; Tiny Darling, a part-time thief who smashes up a "dance against vandalism"; and Louise Darling, the woman forced to choos...

At the heart of Grouse County, in the American midwest, is an unforgettable triangle: Dan Norman, the county sheriff whose empathy exceeds his love for law enforcement; Tiny Darling, a part-time thief who smashes up a "dance against vandalism"; and Louise Darling, the woman forced to choose between them.

Ten years ago, Tom Drury's groundbreaking debut, * The End of Vandalism,was serialized in The New Yorker,was compared to the work of Sherwood Anderson and William Faulkner by USA Today,and was named a Best Book of the Year *in multiple publications. Now, appearing simultaneously with his first new novel in six years, Drury's debut is back in print.

Welcome to Grouse County -- a fictional Midwest that is at once familiar and amusingly eccentric -- where a thief vacuums the church before stealing the chalice, a lonely woman paints her toenails in a drafty farmhouse, and a sleepless man watches his restless bride scatter their bills beneath the stars. At the heart of* The End of Vandalism is an unforgettable love triangle set off by a crime: Sheriff Dan Norman arrests Tiny Darling for vandalizing an anti-vandalism dance and then marries the culprit's ex-wife Louise. So Tiny loses Louise, Louise loses her sense of self, and the three find themselves on an epic journey. At turns hilarious and heart-breaking, The End of Vandalism * is a radiant novel about the beauty and ache of modern life.