Scathing satire of a victim culture, blockbuster first novel by James Jeffrey Paul, Harry McCreedy, is both comedy and tragedy, indictment of society and testament to the human spirit.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Author
In creating Harry McCreedy, I strove to create someone who truly lived up to that tired cliché that you see on movie posters, 'a hero for our times.' But I wanted to remind readers what a hero truly is. Like the traditional underdog hero, Harry struggles against great obstacles and experiences a lot of pain in his quest to 'do the right thing.' He also 'wins the girl' along the way. But he never completely conquers his fears; he's not cut out for the role of the strong, silent, wisecracking, 'all-American' hero. Still, he continues to struggle because he believes in the true and the good, no matter the cost to himself. To face your fears and persevere even though you don't get stronger, but only more afraid--now that's courage. That's the true definition of that misused phrase, 'a real man.'
About the Author
I also set out to do many other things in this novel. I wanted to satirize our culture of victimhood and complaint, and show the physical and psychological violence that results from it; I wanted to depict a love story based on mutual respect and support; I wanted to portray the sorry state of race relations in this country; I wanted to prove that, in the modern workplace, 'work is hell,' and to locate the source of this not in our economic system, but in human nature; I wanted to write a novel about a very religious man with some very human faults; I wanted to portray the Catholic Church as something more than an object of scorn and derision. Above all, I wanted to write a tragedy in the original Greek sense of the term--the story of a man who challenges forces beyond his control and is defeated by them, but who is victorious in defeat. Overall, I think that Harry McCreedy has a lot to offer readers interested in something more substantial than Bridget Jones longing to snag a man and lose weight, or Rebecca Walker trying to impress us with how many men she slept with as a teenager.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Would the world really be a worse place without this book?,
By Mo Townjunk (North Haven, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Harry McCreedy (Paperback)
I have my doubts. Two-dimensional characters, unconvincing plot, pointless polemic... Just the sort of thing we expect from a vanity publisher, really. This is why proper companies use agents and the like to decide what goes into print rather than just publishing whatever drivel lands in their in trays.In an age when the earth's natural resources are in peril, this represents a criminal waste of trees that would probably have been banned under some international accord or another had the USA not ignored them all.
5.0 out of 5 stars
UNFORGETABLE STORYLINE!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Harry McCreedy (Paperback)
Is there any higher achievement by an author than to imbue their story with whatever qualities etch it indelibly upon the reader's memory? This quality is posessed by Paul. This novel shines among such literary novels as have seen the press this year. Do not allow it to pass without reading it.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ACERBIC HUMOR,
By A Customer
This review is from: Harry McCreedy (Paperback)
A friend told me about this book and I requsted it at the library. I thoroughly enjoyed it. What an ironic story!
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