Dallas - October 12, 2005

Capital Stories

“Waterloo,” by Karen Olsson

Buffy, Bond, and Sharon Stone’s bottom.

What do they have in common? Stunt doubles, of course. They’re the ultimate celebrity doppelgangers.

And look what else has a stand-in: Austin. The city stars in Waterloo, Karen Olsson’s ambling, amiable, and super-smart debut novel about a fictional town with the same name.

The book’s reluctant hero is beleaguered thirtysomething Nick Lasseter, a reporter for the city’s alternative weekly newspaper. He’s muddling through a crisis of faith about his profession, an obsession with his newly engaged ex-girlfriend, and the unwanted company of his alcoholic uncle Bones.

Sex, politics, and local color converge when Nick is assigned to cover a newly elected Republican state legislator with troubles of her own (an ailing marriage, an affair, and an iffy urban development scheme). Throw in a legendary and recently deceased liberal senator, a posse of slacker friends, sundry scandals, and the sexy, taciturn Andrea Carter, a young black reporter who has Nick all crushed out, and you’ve got a novel to flip over.

No stunt double required.

Available at your local bookstore or amazon.com.