Author(s): Stephanie Doyon

Fiction.

A dazzling and richly comic novel about small-town life, growing up and what it takes to be great

Cedar Hole is a small and foggy town where only the grass is able to blossom - its inhabitants are a hopeless and lethargic bunch. Enter Robert J. Cutler, an enigmatic, confident and relentlessly cheerful young boy. Robert seems to be heading for great things - more than this town can offer him, certainly. However, he is dedicated to his beloved Cedar Hole and determined to become its school's best student. Now meet Francis 'Spud' Pinkham who is trying to stay as invisible as Robert is trying to shine. Spud's nine terrifying elder sisters make his life a daily battle of torment and he slips easily and willingly into the role of the school bully. It seems that these trends will continue indefinitely. Robert grows to be a model citizen for whom the town is his hobby, interest and life, always overshadowing Spud whose only achievement is to marry his first girlfriend and whose existence is meagre. But destiny has other plans, and the colourful residents of Cedar Hole will be forced to acknowledge that a good man can come in many guises. Richly comic and tender, The Greatest Man in Cedar Hole is a dazzling novel about small-town life, growing up, and, above all, what it takes to be great.