A Woman Named Drown

In Padgett Powell's whimsically surreal novel, A Woman Named Drown, a young PhD dropout abandons his academic ambitions for an unpredictable journey through the American South. He becomes entangled with an eccentric older woman, a pool-playing amateur actress, whose bizarre associates lead him further into a world of peculiar adventures. Set against the backdrop of Tennessee and Florida, this “extravagantly comic” tale invites readers to explore a landscape where the ordinary and extraordinary intertwine, creating a rich tapestry of literary oddity.