Herb 'n' Lorna — Eric Kraft

Herb Piper lives with his clever and vivacious wife, Lorna, in the tranquil, seaside Long Island town of Babbington. Herb sells Studebakers, putters in his basement, fancies himself an inventor, and struggles against his habit of making bad investments. Bright afternoons and well-tended lawns fill the couple's quiet, unassuming life, the very picture of Norman Rockwell's America. But Herb and Lorna have concealed from each other a pair of curious secrets, deceptions at the heart of a marriage that register the delightful, universal mystique of human sexuality. A funny, poignant, and surprising love story, Herb ?n? Lorna gently unravels the mysteries?logical and illogical ? that bind two people through the years. When Peter Leroy discovers that his late grandparents had been leaders of the animated erotic jewelry industry, he is forced to change his views about them. Clearly, this man and woman were not merely his comfy Gumma and Guppa; they were also lively, passionate people with a secret history. When Peter sets off to learn this history, he meets Herb ?n? Lorna. He traces their romance, the events that led them down such a wildly improbable path, and their recipe for a joyful life. Their whimsical world makes for marvelous reading and kept me smiling for days.? ? Elizabeth West, winner of the Eric Kraft Reader Blurb Contest