Only Killers and Thieves LP - Softcover

Howarth, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062792091 ISBN 13: 9780062792099

Verlag: Harperluxe, 2020

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Críticas

"Prose like that arrives direct from Cormac McCarthy's dusty Southwest...Howarth's spotlights how arbitrary frontier justice can be. But he also asks: How much less arbitrary is a purportedly civilized society?"--Washington Post

"They're hard to find, books that grab you by the throat and won't let go -- addictive novels that make your heart race. Only Killers and Thieves tops that category...There's much to relish in this page turner, descriptive writing, a plot that wrings you out, and characters you grow to hate, evil and racism personified...This literary, hard-hitter brings to life a time of mistrust and violence in Australia when whites tried to wipe out indigenous Australians. Only Killers and Thieves is brilliant but brutal."--The Missourian

"Hugely impressive...reminiscent of Peter Carey."--Irish Examiner

"Howarth's impressive debut is a Wild West saga transported to 19th-century Queensland, Australian. The story deals unflinchingly with the brutality of Australian rule...but the heart of the story is the complicated relationship between the brothers...While this book has a historical point to make, it also works as a suspenseful mystery and a resonant bildungsroman."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Powerful debut...the novel feels like a modern Western along the lines of Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses. Howarth's narrative is almost cinematic...U.S. readers will make the connection with our country's oppression of Native Americans and gain an understanding of the fundamental racism of both former British colonies...Howarth is a novelist to watch."--Library Journal, starred review

"I couldn't put Only Killers and Thieves down. It does what great Westerns do, it drops you inside the ugliness and chaos of Australian frontier life, it educates and horrifies, but also it entertains. Howarth's debut is a powerhouse page turner."--Willy Vlautin, author of Lean on Pete

"Devastating and impressive debut...Howarth skillfully uses the fraying relationship between the two brothers--Billy embraces vigilantism with vengeful zeal, while Tommy is revolted by both the carnage and its effect on his brother--to illustrate the moral issues at the heart of his story. The narrative is empowered further by his searing descriptions of the outback, a drought-ridden landscape of desiccation and death that provides a backdrop as bleak and merciless as the characters who move against it."--Publishers Weekly

"Rich in character and period atmosphere, this effective blend of family saga and historical mystery will please fans of Jeffrey Archer and Wilbur Smith."--Booklist

"Only Killers and Thieves is a powerful debut. Paul Howarth brings early Australia to life, bloody warts and all, in an epic tale of murder, revenge, and colonial oppression, with very little room for redemption. The story and his words will stay with you, long after you have finished the book."--New York Review of Books

"An outstanding debut...a powerful novel of crimes in a bleak landscape."--Sunday Times (UK), Historical Fiction Book of the Month

Reseña del editor

Two brothers are exposed to the brutal realities of life and the seductive cruelty of power in this riveting debut novel—a story of savagery and race, injustice and honor, set in the untamed frontier of 1880s Australia—reminiscent of Philipp Meyer’s The Son and the novels of Cormac McCarthy.

An epic tale of revenge and survival, Only Killers and Thieves is a gripping and utterly transporting debut, bringing to vivid life a colonial Australia that bears a striking resemblance to the American Wild West in its formative years.

It is 1885, and a crippling drought threatens to ruin the McBride family. Their land is parched, their cattle starving. When the rain finally comes, it is a miracle that renews their hope for survival. But returning home from an afternoon swimming at a remote waterhole filled by the downpour, fourteen-year-old Tommy and sixteen-year-old Billy meet with a shocking tragedy.

Thirsting for vengeance against the man they believe has wronged them—their former Aboriginal stockman—the distraught brothers turn to the ruthless and cunning John Sullivan, the wealthiest landowner in the region and their father’s former employer. Sullivan gathers a posse led by the dangerous and fascinating Inspector Edmund Noone and his Queensland Native Police, an infamous arm of British colonial power charged with the "dispersal" of indigenous Australians to "protect" white settler rights. As they ride across the barren outback in pursuit, their harsh and horrifying journey will have a devastating impact on Tommy, tormenting him for the rest of his life—and will hold enduring consequences for a young country struggling to come into its own.

Recreating a period of Australian and British history as evocative and violent as the American frontier era, Only Killers and Thieves is an unforgettable story of family, guilt, empire, race, manhood, and faith that combines the insightfulness of Philipp Meyer’s The Son, the atmospheric beauty of Amanda Coplin’s The Orchardist, and the raw storytelling power of Ian McGuire’s The North Water.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Harperluxe
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2020
• ISBN 10: 0062792091
• ISBN 13: 9780062792099
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 544