Very few novels these days take the time to examine the biosolid management industry and really tell its story. This is due in large part to the fact that its story is pretty gross. Let me assure you that the novel I am asking you to purchase and read does not discuss the intimate details of the biosolid management industry. It does, I am afraid, gloss over them just a little bit.

SMELLING MELVILLE is the story of five residents of Melville, Wisconsin and their quest to turn back the clock to better times. Among the five residents are the morbidly obese Christian Utilitarian who promotes his piety by performing the racy parts of banned books at the local library and the librarian who does her best to stop him. The book also follows an award-winning economics teacher and the student he wronged ten years earlier. All four subjects are connected by a bored 20-something with a genius intelligence quotient, freckles, and tight black curls.

Smelling Melville reveals the soft underbelly of the world of municipal code enforcement, helps us understand (just a little bit) what happens after we flush, and reminds us all to be careful what we wish for.