When a car crash takes a life, to whom does the tragedy really happen—the wife who dies? The husband who was driving? Or the six-year-old son sitting in the backseat? Author George Harrar explores this provocative question in his debut novel, set in the arts colony of New Hope, Pennsylvania, on the Delware River. The book begins 10 years after the accident when Jake Paine, now 16, comes home after almost a year as a runaway. His return sparks painful memories in his father, a man verging on a nervous breakdown. Jake’s appearance also ignited old fears among townspeople about a boy who dances on the edge of craziness.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The troubled protagonist of this intelligent, straightforward coming-of-age story is 16-year-old Jake Paine, the only son of a depressive and lithium-dependent Vietnam vet. Jake's life was fundamentally changed when, at age six, he witnessed his mother's death in a car accident. Although his father remarries and has another child, the father is never able to regain his center, and Jake himself, unwelcome in the new family, becomes a petty thief and troublemaker. Threatened with being sent away, Jake escapes to New York City, where he lives on the streets. But he becomes an unlikely hero when he protects a mentally unstable woman from an attack in the subway. The incident results in his simultaneous discovery by a writer who wants to tell his story, and by authorities, who want him out of their jurisdiction. Jake is quickly returned to his hometown of New Hope, Pa., where he falls easily into his old patterns, though now he is interviewed periodically by the writer, a young woman who fascinates Jake as much as he fascinates her. Meanwhile, his father sinks deeper into depression, reading obsessively and freeing animals from a pet store, proving his own dictum, "Going from order to disorder is always easy in this world [but] going from disorder to order is impossible." A sudden but seemingly unavoidable tragedy forces the family to finally drop its pretenses and split up. Harrar's realistic and gritty debut novel doesn't sugarcoat the life of a misunderstood boy, but neither does it deny Jake the possibility of redemption. Harrar keenly describes not only Jake's limited options, but also his unquenched hopes for a better life. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Jake Paine is a 16-year-old juvenile delinquent who can't stop running away from home. When Jake was six years old, his mother died right beside him and his father in a car accident. Here, Jake returns to his hometown of New Hope, PA, where everyone, except his depressed father and half sister, hates him because of his criminal past. Although Harrar presents a teen who continues to break the law, readers will be drawn to the compassionate and extremely sharp young man. Other troubled characters, such as Jake's stepmother, Jenny, and Jake's good friend, Frank, are equally compelling. The cynical conversations between Jake and his father are also interesting. Throughout this first novel, readers will wonder what will happen to these characters and won't be disappointed at the outcome. Recommended for most fiction collections.AAmanda Fung, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Characters live and breathe,
By joanne kelleher (Westwood, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: First Tiger: George Harrar (Hardcover)
This is a stunner of a book. It happens to be a first novel, but doesn't read like one. The author treats his characters with generosity and understanding, revealing the the positive qualities that coexist with their obvious flaws and frailties. There's a chronically depressed father, who can't figure out how to make peace with life, but manages to impart wisdom and resilience to his children. There's a kid sister who could hold her own with Harper Lee's Scout. There's an uncle whose distant existence is reflected through the influence he has managed to have on a nephew he has never met.The portrait of the teenage central character is particularly strong, capturing the weird mix of fatalism and perceived invincibility that is the adolescent mindset, as well as the good nature that can lurk beneath a stubbornly opaque surface and seemingly hell bent behavior. There is a lot of darkness and sadness in these pages. Ultimately, however, the book leaves you feeling better about human nature in all its manifestations. These characters are going to stick in my head for a long time, and I'll be glad of their company.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First Tiger,
By
This review is from: First Tiger: George Harrar (Hardcover)
This book goes down as easily and memorably as a Raymond Carver story. My wife and I both couldn't put it down. You're drawn into the lives of characters who can barely seem to hold it together. Upon first meeting them, you might be tempted to dismiss the father as a dreamy incompetent, his wife as a bitter and heartless woman, the son and protagonist Jake as a ne'er-do-well punk. But quickly you find your sympathy growing for all of them. "Dad" is a good-hearted would-be philosopher with intellectual gems to share. It becomes clear that his wife, Jake's stepmother, has sound reasons for her behavior and, beneath a harsh exterior, a sad heart of her own. Jake, despite specializing in reprehensible and even atrocious behavior, is highly appealing. How the author could have such a finely polished voice in his first novel is beyond me. Read it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
POWERFUL, MOVING AND HONEST FIRST NOVEL,
By
This review is from: First Tiger: George Harrar (Hardcover)
I picked up this novel after I read the author's wonderful story in the 1999 Year's Best and I loved it. The novel is beautifully written (although the author never lets pretty prose get in the way of storytelling) and the characters are well depicted and real. There is lots of conflict and yet there are no "villians"because that is often the way real life is. I think Jake's father is a particularly amazing character. He is a shell shocked Vietnam Vet and yet he is not the stereotype that we often see in fiction and film. He is a very sad and compassionate man. Ultimately, Jake learns that he is mentally tougher than his dad. In any case, enjoy the book. I think the author could definitely become a very important novelist of his generation - he'll probably have to cast his net a little wider to get there but I have no doubt that he will!
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