Gottfried Helnwein | IRELAND | Austria Spezial | THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS OF HESTER DAY: A NOVEL BY MERCEDES HELNWEINMercedes Helnwein, Simon & Schuster, New York

Mercedes Helnwein. Simon & Schuster, $13 paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-4165-7466-8
A wisecracking misfit finds herself—along with a motley assortment of outcasts—on an impromptu road trip across a bleak America in Helnwein's funny, offbeat debut novel. We first meet sarcastic Hester Day at her high school graduation and instantly sense her disconnect from society. Her mother wants her to go to college, but Hester has other ideas and soon marries Fenton Flaherty, an eccentric she barely knows. The marriage, of course, infuriates Hester's parents, so Hester and Fenton embark on a road trip in Fenton's camper, only to discover her weird 10-year-old cousin, Jethro, has stowed away. As their journey becomes more and more aimless, her “kidnapping” hits the national news, and other wanderers—from a “Jesus freak” hitchhiker bearing a cross “big enough to nail a buffalo to,” to Jack, a fellow drifter for whom Hester develops feelings (Hester and Fenton, meanwhile, thrive on bickering, and his one amorous advance isn't consummated)—breeze in and out of the picture. Although Hester might be an exaggerated portrait of disaffected youth, her soul-searching adventure is reliably entertaining and her obligatory final-page epiphany feels just right. (Feb.)


		24. September 2007 Simon & Schuster New York Mercedes Helnwein THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS OF HESTER DAY: A NOVEL BY MERCEDES HELNWEIN Publication Date: February 12, 2008


		The New Literary Enfant Terrible: Mercedes Helnwein BlackBook, Los Angeles, October, 2007


		She came of age in a Viennese castle, her face bandaged, mouth filled with medical instruments (all in the name of art). With her forthcoming novel, and new solo shows on the horizon, the next generation is out to prove just how strange—and genius—she can get. BlackBook, Los Angeles, October, 2007


		The Potential Hazards of Hester Day Mercedes Helnwein. Simon & Schuster, $13 paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-4165-7466-8 A wisecracking misfit finds herself—along with a motley assortment of outcasts—on an impromptu road trip across a bleak America in Helnwein's funny, offbeat debut novel. We first meet sarcastic Hester Day at her high school graduation and instantly sense her disconnect from society. Her mother wants her to go to college, but Hester has other ideas and soon marries Fenton Flaherty, an eccentric she barely knows. The marriage, of course, infuriates Hester's parents, so Hester and Fenton embark on a road trip in Fenton's camper, only to discover her weird 10-year-old cousin, Jethro, has stowed away. As their journey becomes more and more aimless, her “kidnapping” hits the national news, and other wanderers—from a “Jesus freak” hitchhiker bearing a cross “big enough to nail a buffalo to,” to Jack, a fellow drifter for whom Hester develops feelings (Hester and Fenton, meanwhile, thrive on bickering, and his one amorous advance isn't consummated)—breeze in and out of the picture. Although Hester might be an exaggerated portrait of disaffected youth, her soul-searching adventure is reliably entertaining and her obligatory final-page epiphany feels just right. (Feb.)


		The Potential Hazards of Hester Day: A Novel (Paperback) by Mercedes Helnwein Simon & Schuster New York www.amazon.com


		Potential Hazards of Hester Day: A Novel By Mercedes Helnwein Simon & Schuster New York This Edition: Trade Paperback Publication Date: February 12, 2008 List Price: $13.00 Availability: Ships on or around February 12