Kentuckiana

Set in a decidedly postmodern subdivision in Appalachia, Kentuckiana focuses on the lives of the Miles family. Invented by a real-estate developer who is authoring a report on the neighborhoods he has created, the imaginary Mileses and their neighbors populate his Garden Springs subdivision in Lexington, Kentucky.As introduced by the real-estate developer, the members of the Miles family -- Jean, the hardworking alcoholic father; Constance, the long-suffering mother; Judy, Elaine, Stephen, Talia, and Lynnette, the reckless but resilient children -- compete for time and space within the narrative. Tracing the family's progress through the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s, Kentuckiana introduces us to the folkways, drugs, sex, schemes, bruises, and theatrics that color the everyday existence of the Mileses.Once the real-estate developer has presented his creations, the members of the Miles family take on life and speak for themselves; as the narrative is furthered by each successive imaginary narrator, the line between fiction and reality becomes increasingly blurred, and the high-strung Miles family seems to seize control of its own rollicking existence. Finally, as the real-estate developer plans for retirement, his son Junior must buy out his father's businesses -- including the Miles family narrative -- and, in falling in love with the imaginary Elaine Miles, Junior is forced to question his very existence.This is a metafictional romp through one of the most hilarious, fascinating, and dysfunctional neighborhoods in all of recent fiction.