Slicker

Pampered Manhattan girl Desirée runs away from her privileged life to Kansas, only to find it meaner and more mixed up than the urban jungle she abandoned in the pseudonymous Jackson's light romp through the land of corn, cows, and "small-minded, Bible-thumping, selfrighteous, Jew-hating John Birchers." Or so Desirée sees it when confronted by a gun-toting thief, the hilarious highlight of this oddball tale of young and middleaged love. "Mostly everyone here's good people," the outraged thief replies. "Or good enough, anyway." Jackson (Posh) puts a sunny spin on Desirée's foray into waves of grain, where she discovers love worth leaving New York City for, and forgiveness for a dad who clumsily burst out of the closet. The companion story of mom Nina, ailing granddad Marvin, and caretaker Porsha tells the quieter but more compelling tale of trust and acceptance back in New York. A crew of country bumpkins and cagey city slickers reinforce all the clichés, but they're still charming enough to merit spending a few hours with. (Aug.)