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600 Hours of Edward [Kindle Edition]

Craig Lancaster
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (176 customer reviews)

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Book Description

A thirty-nine-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Edward Stanton lives alone on a rigid schedule in the Montana town where he grew up. His carefully constructed routine includes tracking his most common waking time (7:38 a.m.), refusing to start his therapy sessions even a minute before the appointed hour (10:00 a.m.), and watching one episode of the 1960s cop show Dragnet each night (10:00 p.m.).

But when a single mother and her nine-year-old son move in across the street, Edward’s timetable comes undone. Over the course of a momentous 600 hours, he opens up to his new neighbors and confronts old grievances with his estranged parents. Exposed to both the joys and heartaches of friendship, Edward must ultimately decide whether to embrace the world outside his door or retreat to his solitary ways.

Heartfelt and hilarious, this moving novel will appeal to fans of Daniel Keyes’s classic Flowers for Algernon and to any reader who loves an underdog.


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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Q&A with Craig Lancaster

Craig Lancaster is the author of two novels,
600 Hours of Edward and The Summer Son, and a short-story collection, Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure.

Question: 600 Hours of Edward grew out of National Novel Writing Month in 2008. How did you knock out a complete novel in just 24 days?

Craig Lancaster: I think the answer lies in time, in two senses. First, when I set to writing 600 Hours, it had been many years since I'd attempted fiction. But in the intervening time, I'd become a much better writer and self-editor because of my professional life as a journalist, and I'd experienced enough to draw a character who was quite unlike me or anyone else I know. Second, I was writing so quickly--nearly 80,000 words in 24 days--that I simply didn't have the luxury of worrying about whether it was good. That was enormously freeing. I just wanted to finish a novel, something I'd never done before. In some significant ways, everything that's happened since has been a bonus.

Q: What did you know about Asperger's Syndrome heading into the book, and what did you learn along the way?

CL: Well, I knew that it was the likely syndrome for the character I had in mind: a guy who is relentlessly devoted to his rituals and for whom shades of gray and social niceties present distinct challenges. Beyond that, I focused the research I did--and it wasn't much--on two things, behaviors and traits. I purposely steered clear of the clinical and diagnostic stuff, because I didn't want to write that kind of book. I wanted Edward to be remarkable because of who he is, not because of his particular disorder. I figured if I stuck to the things he was likely to do and the way he was likely to see the world, I'd draw him properly for the purposes of the story. Thankfully, people who know that world far more intimately than I do have told me that I captured it accurately. That was a big relief, and I'm grateful for all the folks who have continued to educate me about autism.

Q: You didn't initially plan for more than one Edward book, but word is you've since reconsidered.

CL: True. In fact, the first chapter of the sequel, titled Edward Adrift, is in the back of the new edition of 600 Hours of Edward. I maintained for a long time that I'd told the most interesting part of Edward's story, but I was wrong. When you live with someone as long as I've lived with Edward, you see new possibilities. He had more places to go and more people to meet, and once I started tugging at the threads of the new story, it revealed itself nearly as quickly as the first one did. It was really cool to be back inside his head.


Review

"It's a spare, elegantly crafted whizz-bang of a book that, on its surface, is as quiet and orderly as Edward Stanton, but underneath, also like Edward, a cauldron of barely repressed rage and desire seeking escape." --Missoula Independent

"Craig Lancaster has created a wonderful character and put him in a memorable story." --The Bookmonger (Barbara Lloyd McMichael)

"This endearing hero deserves the fine ending the author has bestowed on him. The final pages leave the reader wanting to know what happens next for Edward, in his newly acquired red Cadillac." --The Lively Times

"This is a wonderful book. Mr. Lancaster's journey ... into the imaginative pages of fiction was one well taken, for himself, for readers and certainly for the lovingly created Edward Stanton." --Montana Quarterly

"... a nearly perfect combination of traditional literary elements, mixing crowd-pleasing sappiness with indie-friendly subversion, a masterful blend of character and action ..." --Chicago Center for Literature and Photography

Product Details

  • File Size: 1292 KB
  • Print Length: 336 pages
  • Publisher: AmazonEncore (August 14, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B007GG47UA
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

I found this book really well written and a great character study. M. Dowdell  |  63 reviewers made a similar statement
I regret one thing after reading "600 Hours of Edward". Lloyd Lofthouse  |  36 reviewers made a similar statement
The character of Edward is a perfect example of someone with OCD and Asperger syndrome. patti  |  35 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I could have gone on reading about Edward long after his 600 hours ended. Glued, I ignored all else until I finished--and was sorry it was over, although I think the ending is perfect. Endearing characters, the author's unique voice, and the large-hearted plot still haunt me long after the reading is done. Edward is so real, and I know him so well that he affects my life--in a good way, as do his therapist and his neighbors. 600 Hours of Edward "celebrates life's potential" as John Gardner says that true art should. I highly recommend this book.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 600 Hours? I read it in less than 24. April 13, 2010
Format:Paperback
I really didn't expect to enjoy this book so much. I think I kept putting off reading it because of the title, somewhere in the back of my head thinking it would take me weeks and weeks to read it. However, once I read the first chapter, boom -- I was off and running. I would have plowed through it even faster if not for my kids needing things, sleep, etc.

It's a really great book. Edward is a fascinating character and I cared about him almost right away. Great arc. Well done, Mr. Lancaster.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've read in a long time January 27, 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
600 Hours of Edward is a heartwarming, quirky, funny and delightful debut novel by Craig Lancaster. The main character, Edward Staton, is like no character you'll ever meet and this book leaves you wanting more of him. I truly hated to see the story end. The gist of the story can be found in the other reviews listed here, but the true originality of the writing and character development deserve higher praise. Lancaster's novel is exceptional writing from beginning to end and will leave you wanting more.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars BORING...
This story was beyond boring. If the tedium of Edward's life was the point, well done. It was too drawn out for my liking.
Published 14 hours ago by Wood Elf
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and instructional too
Excellent story line and a sensitive, human exploration of autism and obsessive/compulsive disease. I don't know if I'll read the sequel.
Published 1 day ago by Marilyn W. Barclay
3.0 out of 5 stars 600 Hours of Edward
Moderately interesting, but it will have you yawning in some chapters, so I would have given it 2-1/2 stars if that was possible. The main character was very endearing. Read more
Published 3 days ago by jjkaiser
1.0 out of 5 stars What brand of cornflakes?
Sally, Dick and Jane language, along with repetitious lines, renders this novel utter garbage. I grew tired of reading "I love the word... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Lazla Toth
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm totally under the spell of Edward
This is a quirky little novel narrated by a 39 year old with Aspergers and OCD. Edward's comfortable world is changing and he takes us along for the ride. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Kritik Lover
4.0 out of 5 stars a good read
The story was good and it gave you a sense of bonding with the hero. Sometimes you just wanted to shake him off the compulsions obsessions he had. Read more
Published 7 days ago by moroziris
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly gripping
When I started this book, I thought it might be boring, with Edward's repetitions and endless noting of data, but I was soon very caught up in it and couldn't wait to get back to... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Claudia Remington
4.0 out of 5 stars A really nice read
I like Edward. I think most people will relate to at least some of his quirks. It's a comforting read and left me smiling. Read more
Published 9 days ago by lynda smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Just loved Edward
I found this book really well written and a great character study. I don't really know how accurate it was of someone with asperger's but found it fascinating to get to know how... Read more
Published 9 days ago by M. Dowdell
2.0 out of 5 stars The repitiion bored me
I understand Edward was autistic, but the repetition and long involved dragnet explanations bored me. I did not find this a very good book
Published 10 days ago by deborah beemer dlbeemer
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More About the Author

"I have these incredibly vivid memories of visiting Montana with my folks on family vacations, and following my dad, an itinerant laborer who worked in the oil and gas fields of the West when I was a kid," novelist Craig Lancaster says. "It was such a vast, beautiful, overwhelming place. From the first time I saw Montana, I wanted to be a part of it."

A couple of years after Lancaster's in the Big Sky State in his mid-30s, he began chasing a long-held dream: writing novels. His debut, "600 Hours of Edward," was born in 2008 in the crucible of National Novel Writing Month, that every-November free-for-all of furious writing. In October 2009, it was published by Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana, and has since gone on to be selected as a Montana Honor Book and a High Plains Book Award winner. In 2012, it was acquired by Amazon Publishing and re-released, gaining a whole new cadre of fans.

His follow-up, "The Summer Son," was released in January 2011 by AmazonEncore, to similar acclaim. Booklist called the new novel "a classic western tale of rough lives and gruff, dangerous men, of innocence betrayed and long, stumbling journeys to love." It was a Utah Book Award finalist.

Next came "Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure," a collection of short fiction, including pieces Lancaster originally published in Montana Quarterly magazine. That book, released by Missouri Breaks Press, came out in December 2011 and was a 2012 Independent Publishers Book Awards gold medalist and High Plains Book Award finalist.

In April 2013, Edward Stanton, the main character in Lancaster's debut novel, appears again in the eagerly anticipated "Edward Adrift," also published by Amazon Publishing.

Lancaster's work, hailed for its character-driven narratives, delves deeply below the surface, getting at the grit and the glory of lives ordinary and extraordinary.

"It's all too easy to turn people into caricatures, but the truth is, we humans are pretty damned fascinating," he says. "For me, fiction is a way at getting at truth. I use it to examine the world around me, the things that disturb me, the questions I have about life -- whether my own or someone else's. My hope is that someone reading my work will have their own emotional experience and bring their own thoughts to what they read on the page."

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