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David Carkeet
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The Error of Our Ways: A Novel Kindle Edition

by David Carkeet (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    289 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    The Overlook Press
  5. Publication date
    November 2, 2010
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. File size
    1794 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07RT39NQS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Overlook Press (November 2, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 2, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1794 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

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David Carkeet

David Carkeet

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David Carkeet was born and raised in the Gold Rush town of Sonora, California. He went to college at U.C. Davis and Berkeley, then to graduate school at U. of Wisconsin and Indiana U.--thus the southern Indiana setting for "Double Negative," his first novel. He lived in St. Louis for 30 years, where he set "The Full Catastrophe" and "The Error of Our Ways." He now lives near Montpelier, Vermont, and you can probably guess where he set his newest novel, "From Away." He is married with three grown daughters. More info at davidcarkeet.com.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
14 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

CM
4.0 out of 5 stars Another good read by David Carkeet featuring the linguist Jeremy Cook
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2009
Verified Purchase
Not quite as fun a read as The Full Catastrophe or Double Negative, still, the Error of our Ways entertains.
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Jeffrey Penn May
5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Fun Errors
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2016
I read David Carkeet’s “The Error Of Our Ways” when it was first published in 1997 and have vivid memories of staying up well past midnight to finish it. I did not expect the same thing to happen in 2016. But it did. Despite references to outdated technology and perhaps some of the social mores of the decade in which it was written, this novel holds up well over time.

There is something “off” about this book, but in a good way. All the quirks and odd occurrences are completely believable. Carkeet interweaves ordinary events into an intricate plot, those events gaining increasingly greater and somewhat ominous significance as the novel progresses. I know of few writers who can describe the process of seeking college financial aid and weave it into the plot so that reading it becomes almost suspenseful. Not all errors are ordinary of course and the big mistakes can often balloon into ever bigger ones, but when we make them it’s often hard to determine their significance. Maybe our lives are like that, one long mountain climb where a small seemingly irrelevant mistake, neglecting to change a frayed boot lace, can have dire consequences on icy slopes.

“The Error Of Our Ways,” like Carkeet’s previous novels “Double Negative” and “The Full Catastrophe” feature the linguist Jeremy Cook. In those novels the humor jumps off almost every page, especially “The Full Catastrophe.” While “The Error Of Our Ways” is funny, its themes suggest more threatening forces, making it difficult to stop reading. And Carkeet knows his setting, exploiting it beautifully, the odd array of small “cities” bunched around the city of St. Louis.

In a way, “The Error Of Our Ways,” depicts a life transition, from Jeremy Cook, the cynical linguist who has no children and is only technically married, to Ben Hudnut, who has all the trappings of a family, his newly career minded wife, four daughters, his nut business, and an expensive house in an expensive neighborhood. Cook, the linguist who has nothing but his passion for language development will never have the family life of Ben Hudnut.

While the main characters Hudnut and Cook, are inventive, intricate, complex, their wives and supporting cast are only a little less so, and are strong characters nonetheless. However, this is ultimately a book about men, the man standing alone amid the debris of his inevitable mistakes, battling the forces that would harm him and what’s important to him. In Ben Hudnut’s case, his family and his nut business. For Jeremy Cook, his character, his political views, his lack of involvement in community, his solitude. In this regard, the novel makes excellent use of literary allusions, most notably Our Town. Perhaps, ironically, “The Error Of Our Ways” seems more suited to male readers who might be less likely to read it.

“The Error Of Our Ways” should resonate for a long time. Carkeet displays a gift for turning the mundane into the extraordinary, interweaving normal parental concerns and lingering sense of self into a compelling story. “The Error Of Our Ways” deserves to be read. Give it a try.
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S. Gabbriellini
5.0 out of 5 stars I do have to agree with the reviewer who was disappointed in the ending
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2014
This is the third of Carkeet's Jeremy Cook tales I've read. He has created an unusual, off-beat, slightly ambiguous, but endearing protagonist who blunders along in his relations with others, somehow managing to come up with viable solutions to the situations in which he finds himself entangled. The speech scene at the end is particularly hilarious with Cook expounding on some unorthodox theories about the vocabulary of conservatives. I do have to agree with the reviewer who was disappointed in the ending. It seems too cynical, and negates Cook's epiphany, his altruistic act, and his plans for a new life--almost as if Carkeet had tired of him. Still, I wondered if this isn't a clever smokescreen, leading to another Jeremy Cook book, and was half-expecting him to crop up in "From Away". Anyone who has read H.G. Wells' "The History of Mr. Polly", will understand why. From the blurb I just read, it doesn't seem so, but who knows--maybe a future project for Carkeet?
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Joel Rudikoff
4.0 out of 5 stars The final (?) volume of a trilogy
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2006
This book, featuring the adventures of the linguist Jeremy Cook, finds him in a situation similar to that of the previous novel, "The Full Catastrophe," (1990). His is, unofficially, this time, studying the language development of a child, and helping to stabilize the family's domestic situation. It is not necessary to have read the previous two books ("Double Negative," a mystery, was the first), but as I mentioned in my review of "Catastrophe," it is always enjoyable to know something of the background of the central character, and as was the case with "Catastrophe," threads of the story line are carried from each of the preceding novels. This book ends badly for Jeremy and the reader can only hope that Carkeet will someday produce a "Reichenbach Falls" plot twist so that the series may be continued.
One person found this helpful
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Word Wrangler
4.0 out of 5 stars I admire Carkeet's writing, but . . .
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 1998
. . . the ending, while certainly "unpredictable and downbeat" (as one of the other reviewers notes), was not, in my view, "fitting"; rather, it seemed abrupt and arbitrary, drastically changing the tone of the novel sustained up until the final few pages, to no particular purpose. Having very much enjoyed Double Negative and The Full Catastrophe, I was angered and depressed. Nevertheless, Carkeet remains one of those rare writers (like David Lodge and Michael Malone) who not only makes me smile a lot, but also, at times, makes me laugh out loud; and, mostly, this novel did the same for me. So I still recommend it. Perhaps those for whom this is the first Carkeet novel will not have the same issues I have with the ending.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Guillermin Martine
3.0 out of 5 stars Linguistics...
Reviewed in France on January 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
IThe story is interesting, the characters well rendered and consistant. However i was hugely disappointed in the lack of linguistics (compared to what had been advertised...) i was expecting a brand new way of writing...
One person found this helpful
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