About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarperCollins

ISBN-100062370391

ISBN-139780062370396

eBay Product ID (ePID)202415761

Product Key Features

Book TitleHarder They Come : a Novel

Number of Pages576 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2015

TopicPsychological, Family Life, Thrillers / Suspense, Literary

FeaturesLarge Type

GenreFiction

AuthorT.C. Boyle

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height1.1 in

Item Weight20.8 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

Dewey Edition23

ReviewsBoyle's...hypnotic narrative probes the complexities of heroism, violence, power, and resistance...Written with both clarity and compassion, each of the novel's characters inhabits a rich and convincing private world. As they traverse a landscape none of them control, their haunting stories illuminate the violent American battle with otherness., Fifteen years ago, Boyle told The Paris Review that he was 'writing novels of social engagement...These same concerns appear in The Harder They Come ... It is not a cheerful book. The best ones never are.", The Harder They Come is the 66-year-old Boyle's 15th novel, displaying his characteristic energy, smart cultural references and talent for physical description. It's the emotional element that takes second place here, though, leaving an unfinished feel to the work., Written with both clarity and compassion, each of the novel's characters inhabits a rich and convincing private world. As they traverse a landscape none of them control, their haunting stories illuminate the violent American battle with otherness., A gripping read and a powerful commentary on American themes of self-reliance and anti-authoritarianismâ€¦ eerily prescient., Set in Northern California and rooted in actual events, The Harder They Come is a meditation on violence, specifically in the context of American history and culture. The text examines the connections between three damaged and explosive yet sympathetic people., Boyle has long been one of the most exciting and intelligent storytellers in the United States. His upcoming novel describes a mentally ill young man involved with a group of violent anarchists., Boyle's tart and exuberant powers of description, of people and places, and his cheerful black humor are as exhilarating as ever., [S]tunningâ€¦ It's gripping, funny and melancholyâ€¦ The Harder They Come is a masterly - and arresting - piece of storytelling, arguably Mr. Boyle's most powerful, kinetic novel yet., ...The pendulum swings back to high-adrenaline zaniness and pertinacious, destructive misfits. Individualism remains central, but unlike San Miguel, it's far from contemplative. It is a juggernaut, twisted to borderline psychotic., ...A full-throated Harley Davidson of a novel... using some of fiction's least fashionable attributes, social realism, pointed action...to brilliantly dissect America's love affair with violenceâ€¦[Boyle's] prose manages to be both vivid and sharp, patient and pressing.. Boyle's writing never loses energy or descriptive power., T.C. Boyle is a master at exposing the American psyche in his fiction. His new novel The Harder They Come is yet another stunning example, an engaging portrait of family, violence, and anarchy., When precisely...does T.C. Boyle sleep? In the 35 years since his first book came out, Boyle has published 14 novels and more than 100 stories. The Harder They Come is the usual T.C. Boyle...circus of serious-minded zaniness., Boyle is a genius at capturing social microcosms and excavating emotions simmering beneath the surface of contemporary America...A gripping and revelatory tale., [M]arvelousâ€¦ thrilling, intense... [T]he story and the characters...are amazing. Early in his career, Boyle could be pointlessly intense... His late style...is something to behold; it has the same verve and pace, but in service now to an adroit realism. , A maximalist scribe of gothic melodrama, Boyle takes you on a manhunt through Californian pot groves, grisly Caribbean cruises, and Orwellian animal shelters before landing in horribly familiar territory: a disillusioned psychotic white guy with a gun. Still, plenty of sex, booze, and satire to lighten things up., [T]hrillingâ€¦ Boyle can paint a scene in vibrant colorsâ€¦. [with] characters, who, to his credit, occupy a dark space between psychosis and Americana..., This new work of fiction from Boyle presents a fractured threesome: a 70-year-old ex-Marine, his troubled son and the son's older girlfriend-a right-wing anarchist. A dark novel, The Harder They Come explores violence and the American psyche., New York Times-best-selling author T.C. Boyle explores the volatile relationships between an aging veteran, his unstable son, and the son's much older lover in The Harder They Come ., ...Boyle tellingly explores the anger, paranoia, and violence lurking in the shadowlands of the American psyche. A powerful and profoundly unsettling tale., The latest from a prolific and acclaimed novelist, The Harder They Come is a family saga that maps the relationships between the three people at its heart, as their potent mix of violence and paranoia urges them toward tragedy., In his 15th novel, the author of The Tortilla Curtain and Drop City probes the psyches of three combustible characters... Sparks will fly., Like the best of his work, Boyle's no-frills narration makes for a fascinating journey up to the final page., The Harder They Come has no solutions to the delusions and dysfunctions it portrays. But it taps memorably into something deeply skewed in the American psyche., T.C. Boyle again explores his favorite territory, the American psyche, in, a gripping novel about an aging Vietnam vet and his mentally unstable son, out in April.

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Decimal813/.54

Edition DescriptionLarge Type / large print edition

SynopsisAcclaimed New York Times bestselling author T.C. Boyle makes his Ecco debut with a powerful, gripping novel that explores the roots of violence and anti-authoritarianism inherent in the American character. Set in contemporary Northern California, The Harder They Come explores the volatile connections between three damaged people-an aging ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran, his psychologically unstable son, and the son's paranoid, much older lover-as they careen towards an explosive confrontation. On a vacation cruise to Central America with his wife, seventy-year-old Sten Stensen unflinchingly kills a gun-wielding robber menacing a busload of senior tourists. The reluctant hero is relieved to return home to Fort Bragg, California, after the ordeal-only to find that his delusional son, Adam, has spiraled out of control. Adam has become involved with Sara Hovarty Jennings, a hardened member of the Sovereign Citizens' Movement, right-wing anarchists who refuse to acknowledge the laws and regulations of the state, considering them to be false and non-applicable. Adam's senior by some fifteen years, Sara becomes his protector and inamorata. As Adam's mental state fractures, he becomes increasingly schizophrenic-a breakdown that leads him to shoot two people in separate instances. On the run, he takes to the woods, spurring the biggest manhunt in California history. As he explores a father's legacy of violence and his powerlessness in relating to his equally violent son, T. C. Boyle offers unparalleled psychological insights into the American psyche. Inspired by a true story, The Harder They Come is a devastating and indelible novel from a modern master., Acclaimed New York Times bestselling author T.C. Boyle makes his Ecco debut with a powerful, gripping novel that explores the roots of violence and anti-authoritarianism inherent in the American character. Set in contemporary Northern California, The Harder They Come explores the volatile connections between three damaged people--an aging ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran, his psychologically unstable son, and the son's paranoid, much older lover--as they careen towards an explosive confrontation. On a vacation cruise to Central America with his wife, seventy-year-old Sten Stensen unflinchingly kills a gun-wielding robber menacing a busload of senior tourists. The reluctant hero is relieved to return home to Fort Bragg, California, after the ordeal--only to find that his delusional son, Adam, has spiraled out of control. Adam has become involved with Sara Hovarty Jennings, a hardened member of the Sovereign Citizens' Movement, right-wing anarchists who refuse to acknowledge the laws and regulations of the state, considering them to be false and non-applicable. Adam's senior by some fifteen years, Sara becomes his protector and inamorata. As Adam's mental state fractures, he becomes increasingly schizophrenic--a breakdown that leads him to shoot two people in separate instances. On the run, he takes to the woods, spurring the biggest manhunt in California history. As he explores a father's legacy of violence and his powerlessness in relating to his equally violent son, T. C. Boyle offers unparalleled psychological insights into the American psyche. Inspired by a true story, The Harder They Come is a devastating and indelible novel from a modern master.