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Carrying Albert Home

The Somewhat True Story of a Woman, a Husband, and her Alligator

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A moving tribute to love—and alligators—from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Rocket Boys, the basis of the movie October Sky.

Elsie Lavender and Homer Hickam (the father of the author) were high school classmates in the West Virginia coalfields, graduating just as the Great Depression began. When Homer asked for her hand, Elsie instead headed to Orlando where she sparked with a dancing actor named Buddy Ebsen (yes, that Buddy Ebsen). But when Buddy headed for New York, Elsie's dreams of a life with him were crushed and eventually she found herself back in the coalfields, married to Homer.

Unfulfilled as a miner's wife, Elsie was reminded of her carefree days with Buddy every day because of his unusual wedding gift: an alligator named Albert she raised in the only bathroom in the house. When Albert scared Homer by grabbing his pants, he gave Elsie an ultimatum: "Me or that alligator!" After giving it some thought, Elsie concluded there was only one thing to do: Carry Albert home.

Carrying Albert Home is the funny, sweet, and sometimes tragic tale of a young couple and a special alligator on a crazy one,zero-mile adventure. Told with the warmth and down-home charm that made Rocket Boys a beloved bestseller, Homer Hickam's rollicking tale is ultimately a testament to that strange and marvelous emotion we inadequately call love.

"An intentionally improbable, bizarre trip through Southern Americana that is . . . an amalgam of fact and an almost Walter Mitty-esque degree of fancy, evoking (because of the deadly yet indispensable animal) Life of Pi and (because of the trope of life as journey) Huckleberry Finn." —BookPage

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    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2015

      In this new novel from former NASA engineer Hickam, best known for his No. 1 New York Times best-selling Rocket Boys, Elsie Lavender has a fling with an aspiring hoofer named Buddy Ebsen in Florida but returns to the West Virginia coalfields and marries former classmate Homer (the author's father). Alas, Buddy's wedding gift, an alligator named Albert, proves cranky and must eventually be carried home.

      Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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