{{Short description|1994 novel by Tito Perdue}} {{Italic title}} {{Infobox book| |name = The New Austerities |image = Tito_Perdue_New_Austerities_cover.jpg |caption = Cover of the first edition |author = Tito Perdue |country = United States |language = English |publisher = Peachtree Press |pub_date = 1994 |pages = 218 |isbn = 9781561450862 }} '''''The New Austerities''''' is a 1994 novel by the American writer Tito Perdue. It is a prequel to his first novel, ''Lee''.
==Publication history== The novel was first published in 1994 by Peachtree Press.<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SDVbAAAAMAAJ Google Books: "The New Austerities"] (accessed 25 May 2025).</ref> A new edition was published by Standard American in 2023.<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7kpq0AEACAAJ Google Books: "The New Austerities"] (accessed 25 May 2025).</ref>
==Reception== ''Publishers Weekly'' notes Perdue's "magically evocative descriptive powers, pungent wit and iconoclastic point of view."<ref>[https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781561450862 ''Publishers Weekly'', 1 August 1994.]</ref>
In the ''New York Press'', Jim Knipfel notes approvingly that, since Perdue’s debut, ''Lee'', his "writing had grown progressively textured and more savage."<ref>Jim Knipfel, [https://www.nypress.com/news/tito-perdue-americas-lost-literary-genius-NBNP1020010612306129981 "Tito Perdue: America's Lost Literary Genius,"] nypress.com (16 February 2015) (accessed 25 May 2025).</ref> Elsewhere, Knipfel writes that "Perdue's craftsmanship and descriptive prose remains unmatched by most any writer I can think of today."<ref>Jim Knipfel, [https://web.archive.org/web/20040627155933/https:/www.nypress.com/16/32/news&columns/eslackjaw.cfm "Go South Young Man,"] ''New York Press'', vol. 16, no. 32.</ref>
In the ''Los Angeles Times'', Dick Roraback finds Lee "engaging character" but complains of Perdue's eccentric diction.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-15-bk-20047-story.html ''Los Angeles Times'', 15 January 1995.]</ref>
In ''Chronicles'', Thomas Fleming judges ''The New Austerities'', and Perdue’s fiction in general, "some of the best satire on contemporary America" and "novels which can hold their own with the best postmodern fiction."<ref>Thomas Fleming, "A Lost Art," ''Chronicles'' (December 1996), pp. 34 - 5.</ref>
==Series== The main character, Lee Pefley, and his forebears appear in many of Perdue's novels. ''Lee'' (1991) is about the end of his life and ''Fields of Asphodel'' (2007) follows his journeys in the afterlife.
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Austerities, The}} Category:1994 American novels Category:1994 English-language novels Category:Novels by Tito Perdue Category:American autobiographical novels