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Synopsis
Winner of the Whiting Writers’ Award
In a voice somewhere between Cormac McCarthy and Kurt Cobain, John McManus explores young people living in extreme situations. Some are in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains, some in the Pacific Northwest, a few are in the Western deserts of Utah and Nevada, one is in England, and many are scattered throughout the Southern US. All are desperate for something beyond the ordinary lives that are given to them, and every one is absolutely unforgettable.
Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction
A "daring, experimental" short-story collection that treads a line between pain and passion, adventure and menace, detailing the stories of "confused and dysfunctional" young people "coping with the vicissitudes of life." Received solidly mixed reviews from our booksellers. Reponses ranged from "put me to sleep" to "McManus is a talent to watch." "It takes more than gratuitous filth, edgy sexuality, and downtrodden, angst-ridden diatribes to make a story worth reading." "It first seemed like another book of nihilistic stories with the ennui of McInerney, but there is a range here." Ultimately, "Bukowski did it all 25 years ago and better."