The Last Studebaker

The Last Studebaker is set in South Bend, Indiana, where the closing of the Studebaker plant years ago has had disastrous consequences for Lois Kulwicki. It's a warm and funny look at a family in transition—an ever-expanding family whose lives have been profoundly shaped by the automobile.

Reviews

"Hemley's weaving of these lost souls' stories into the Studebaker's failure to capture the American heart and pocketbook could collapse into a clever trick. Yet The Last Studebaker is never gimmicky, and offers hope beyond economic and personal despair. It's not only the Studebaker, but life itself, that evokes rueful glances and missed opportunities, along with tenderness and unpredictable charm." — Rachel Shteir, Washington Post Book World

"In South Bend, Ind., two down-on-their-luck characters, a divorced woman and an addled accident victim, team up to change their fates. Mr. Hemley cleverly uses the now-defunct Studebaker car company... to probe the apparent failure of the American dream." — Cathy A. Colman, The New York Times Book Review

"Hemley draws a quirky road map of the human heart, with all its foibles and dangers." — Publishers Weekly