Fierce People [Hardcover]

Dirk Wittenborn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1582342423 | ISBN-13: 978-1582342429 | Publication Date: July 5, 2002

A modern coming-of-age novel about a boy's struggle for survival in a lush and corrupting world that each day grows more seductive and more lethal.

New York's Lower East Side, 1978. Fifteen-year-old Finn Earl's mother, Liz, is a thirty-two-year-old masseuse with a taste for cocaine. When Liz's habit reaches its breaking point, she seeks sanctuary with one of her clients, aging billionaire Ogden C. Osborne. Less than twenty-four hours later, she and Finn have been dropped into a world more savage than anything in National Geographic, more cutthroat than anything New York's grimy downtown streets have to offer-the exclusive rural community of Vlyvalle, New Jersey.

In this golden playground for the super-rich, they find a new life and new friends amongst the decadent and beautiful denizens of Osborne's empire. Finn falls in love and grows up fast. He's living a twisted approximation of the American dream-and for a moment everything he wants is there for the taking.

But in Vlyvalle, social climbing is a blood sport. Even on what should be the happiest night of Finn's life-on an island in the middle of Osborne's private lake, naked and high with Osborne's bewitching granddaughter Maya-someone is watching him from the depths of the forest...and laughing. Soon, Finn is tangled in a web of secrets and betrayals so bizarre and so dangerous that getting out starts to look even harder than getting in.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Life among the rich and twisted proves to be a difficult road to adulthood for young Finn Earl in Wittenborn's lurid and often bizarre coming-of-age yarn, which begins when the adolescent's unstable mother, Liz, a New York City massage therapist, befriends a rich older client named Osborne. The friendship looks like a good deal when Osborne rescues the pair from poverty, spiriting them away to his estate in the elite New Jersey suburb of Vlyvalle. Finn gets a romantic bonus when he falls for Osborne's sexy granddaughter, Maya; he also befriends her odd but erudite brother, Bryce. But the dark side of easy street surfaces when Finn is attacked and raped by an unknown assailant, and his romance comes apart at the seams when Maya catches him in flagrante with the family maid. The novel turns downright strange during a pivotal house fire when Finn is hailed as a hero after tumbling from a window with Maya's mother, who survives the blaze despite some serious injuries. Finn's part-time job sorting through Osborne's extensive photo library provides several clues about the possible identity of his attacker, and the underbelly of the Osborne clan gets exposed in a big way during a series of confrontations among Finn, Bryce, Maya and her grandfather. Wittenborn offers plenty of unusual spins on the usual coming-of-age formula, and his eclectic, idiosyncratic characters provide plenty of entertainment. Some overplotting in the final sections dulls the impact of the over-the-top ending, but this peek behind the scenes of a wealthy family remains novel and fascinating from start to finish.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Lurid...this peek behind the scenes of a wealthy family remains novel and fascinating from start to finish." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (July 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582342423
• ISBN-13: 978-1582342429
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,061,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiercely Fantastic!, July 10, 2002

By 

Kim - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fierce People (Hardcover)

Fierce People is one of the best books I have read in months. Finn, the main character, is a wildly funny, terribly naive, extremely trusting, and hopelessly brave 15-year-old. He finds himself in situations he can't control and comes out of each of them smelling like a rose. While reading this book, I thought I knew each and every character personally. But, the author threw a twist in every now and then, which increased my fascination with the entire population of Vlyvalle all the more.

This book draws you in from page one and doesn't loosen its grip until the end. The climax of the book is a nailbiter! I couldn't put this one down. I REALLY hope there is a sequel!! I would love to read more about Finn and the entire "tribe"!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very Enjoyable read, July 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Fierce People (Hardcover)

There are two times when I feel compelled to write to other readers. One is if a book is a huge disappointment and I have felt mislead by the book review hype. The other time I feel compelled to write a review is when I absolutely love a book. And in the case of the Fierce People, i love the book! The characters are wacky but very believable and the plot is perfect for a summer read.
It is the kind of book that you want to tote with you, sneaking in a chapter or two whenever or wherever possible. This book deserves notice...it has the perfect pitch for a summer sizzler!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sociology Made Easy for the Commoner, September 23, 2008

By 

N. Creamer (Traverse City, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fierce People (Paperback)

Wittenborn portrays what happens when a lower socioeconomic class teen age boy and his recovering drug user mother are plucked from working class poor society and placed into Upper Class "blue blood" society.

Wittenborn has a unique gift of capturing very real, very powerful concepts of class segregation with a sense of humor.

This book was a sheer joy to read. I read this book cover to cover two times in row while amidst eleven other texts that I needed to finish.

If there ever was a book that depicts U.S. social economic classism, family dysfunction of all classes, and a great story, this is it!

Don't pass this book by and if you are a professor, this is a must read for any sociology, psychology, or English lit student.

I anxiously awaited the movie that was adapted from Wittenborn's novel staring Donald Sutherland. While Sutherland's portrayal of the "old man" was beautifully constructed, the move left me sadden that they butchered the story so badly. Don't base the book off the movie, this is one of those books where the movie didn't even come close.

Fierce People is a brilliant piece of work and it captures class consciousness as well as the inner workings of Upper Class.

Highly recommend.