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Books | Literature
What We Seek in Fiction: The Balance Between Reality and Escapism
An open letter of apology to Michelle Teheux, author of The Trailer Park Rules
Dear Michelle Teheux,
The Trailer Park Rules has been on my Kindle since the day the e-book went on sale. This is my open letter of apology for not giving it the glowing review I had intended, and which it deserves.
Its characters, theme and setting are relatable. For anyone who’s middle-aged, experienced some of the gut-curdling rollercoaster that is life, and lived in a neighborhood others prefer to look away from as they drive by, it’s a page out of life. I’m raising my hand here on all these things. I’ve been up, down, and all around on the wheel of fortune, but arrived back close to my roots; the 135-year-old house with a broad front porch and rocking chair from which I am typing now sits across the street from a small, neighborhood trailer park. It’s cozy and familiar to me from a childhood spent in one just like it.
Am I revealing too much to admit that even driving by a mobile home lot — with the smell of particle board and axle grease — makes me swell with nostalgia? Surely a new trailer, ready at the drop of a check (or a Venmo these days, I guess)…
