Exley
Author:
Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language:
English
Description
"The literary equivalent of a half-court shot . . . Extraordinary."-NPR For young Miller Le Ray, life has become a search. A search for his dad, who may or may not have joined the army and gone to Iraq. A search for a notorious (and, unfortunately, deceased) writer, Frederick Exley, author of the "fictional memoir" A Fan's Notes, who may hold the key to bringing Miller's father back. But most of all, his is a search for truth. As Miller says, "Sometimes you have to tell the truth about some of the stuff you've done so that people will believe you when you tell them the truth about other stuff you haven't done." In Exley as in his previous bestselling novel, An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, Brock Clarke takes his reader into a world that is both familiar and disorienting, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining. Told by Miller and Dr. Pahnee, both unreliable narrators, it becomes an exploration of the difference between what we believe to be real and what is in fact real. Brock Clarke is an award-winning author of seven previous works of fiction, including the bestselling An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. He lives in Maine, and teaches at Bowdoin College. "It's the flashes of insight into what it's like to fiercely love a-far-from-perfect father and his sad-sack hero despite their flaws that will move you." --San Francisco Chronicle -San Francisco Chronicle "Clarke has a distinctively winning style. He imagines characters so careful in their reasoning that they are deeply, maddeningly unreasonable but also tenderly hapless at the same time. Mr. Clarke is able to make their isolation both heart-rending and comically absurd." --New York Times -The New York Times "Remarkable . . . In the hands of a less talented writer, the novel's layers, twists and identity puzzles could strain the belief of even the most credulous reader; but Clarke's narrative assurance and unfailingly realistic characters allow him to pull off the literary equivalent of a half-court shot. This would have been a hard novel to write even adequately, but Clarke's performance here is extraordinary; it's far and away the best work of his career." --Michael Schaub, NPR.org -NPR.org "Clarke expertly evokes other authors who deal with children's quests in the face of tragedy and mental illness, from J.D. Salinger to Jonathan Safran Foer. In the end, however, the novel comes off as its own original foray into the land of floating realities, and explains why, though so many of us claim to want the truth, in the end we are almost always content to believe in a well-reasoned lie." --Time Out New York, 5-star review -Time Out New York "Frederick Exley's classic 1968 account of his epic alcoholism, A Fan's Notes, bears the oxymoronic subtitle "A Fictional Memoir." It is the space between those words, between real and fabricated memory, that Clarke examines . . . With humor as black as Exley's liver, Clarke picks apart the fictions we tell one another--and those we tell ourselves." --Entertainment Weekly -Entertainment Weekly "In Exley, Brock Clarke's follow-up to the excellent An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, hidden identities and secret affairs bubble up when a young boy investigates why his father left the family. We laughed. We cried. We wanted to strangle the meddling therapist." --Daily Candy -Daily Candy "Oddly brilliant . . . The luminously engaging plot reveals the deceptions we cling to in order to survive . . . Clarke's breathtaking creativity gives unexpected power to his quirky, touching story." --Daily Beast -Daily Beast "Another literary high-wire performance by a novelist who is establishing himself as a unique voice in contemporary fiction . . . A seriously playful novel about the interweave of literature and life." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review -Kirkus Reviews "Clarke has a distinctively winning style. He imagines
More Copies In Prospector
Loading Prospector Copies...
More Details
ISBN:
9781616201142
9781461815112
9781461815112
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Staff View
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 40cb8e58-ad82-5c2d-4bdf-dbee71e41310 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | exley |
Grouping Author | brock clarke |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-04-11 08:40:09AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-18 21:35:35PM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
auth_author2
Sorensen, Chris
Sullivan, Michael
Sullivan, Michael
author
Clarke, Brock
author2-role
Sorensen, Chris,reader
Sullivan, Michael,reader
hoopla digital
Sullivan, Michael,reader
hoopla digital
author_display
Clarke, Brock
display_description
"The literary equivalent of a half-court shot . . . Extraordinary."-NPR For young Miller Le Ray, life has become a search. A search for his dad, who may or may not have joined the army and gone to Iraq. A search for a notorious (and, unfortunately, deceased) writer, Frederick Exley, author of the "fictional memoir" A Fan's Notes, who may hold the key to bringing Miller's father back. But most of all, his is a search for truth. As Miller says, "Sometimes you have to tell the truth about some of the stuff you've done so that people will believe you when you tell them the truth about other stuff you haven't done." In Exley as in his previous bestselling novel, An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, Brock Clarke takes his reader into a world that is both familiar and disorienting, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining. Told by Miller and Dr. Pahnee, both unreliable narrators, it becomes an exploration of the difference between what we believe to be real and what is in fact real. Brock Clarke is an award-winning author of seven previous works of fiction, including the bestselling An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. He lives in Maine, and teaches at Bowdoin College. "It's the flashes of insight into what it's like to fiercely love a-far-from-perfect father and his sad-sack hero despite their flaws that will move you." --San Francisco Chronicle -San Francisco Chronicle "Clarke has a distinctively winning style. He imagines characters so careful in their reasoning that they are deeply, maddeningly unreasonable but also tenderly hapless at the same time. Mr. Clarke is able to make their isolation both heart-rending and comically absurd." --New York Times -The New York Times "Remarkable . . . In the hands of a less talented writer, the novel's layers, twists and identity puzzles could strain the belief of even the most credulous reader; but Clarke's narrative assurance and unfailingly realistic characters allow him to pull off the literary equivalent of a half-court shot. This would have been a hard novel to write even adequately, but Clarke's performance here is extraordinary; it's far and away the best work of his career." --Michael Schaub, NPR.org -NPR.org "Clarke expertly evokes other authors who deal with children's quests in the face of tragedy and mental illness, from J.D. Salinger to Jonathan Safran Foer. In the end, however, the novel comes off as its own original foray into the land of floating realities, and explains why, though so many of us claim to want the truth, in the end we are almost always content to believe in a well-reasoned lie." --Time Out New York, 5-star review -Time Out New York "Frederick Exley's classic 1968 account of his epic alcoholism, A Fan's Notes, bears the oxymoronic subtitle "A Fictional Memoir." It is the space between those words, between real and fabricated memory, that Clarke examines . . . With humor as black as Exley's liver, Clarke picks apart the fictions we tell one another--and those we tell ourselves." --Entertainment Weekly -Entertainment Weekly "In Exley, Brock Clarke's follow-up to the excellent An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, hidden identities and secret affairs bubble up when a young boy investigates why his father left the family. We laughed. We cried. We wanted to strangle the meddling therapist." --Daily Candy -Daily Candy "Oddly brilliant . . . The luminously engaging plot reveals the deceptions we cling to in order to survive . . . Clarke's breathtaking creativity gives unexpected power to his quirky, touching story." --Daily Beast -Daily Beast "Another literary high-wire performance by a novelist who is establishing himself as a unique voice in contemporary fiction . . . A seriously playful novel about the interweave of literature and life." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review -Kirkus Reviews "Clarke has a distinctively winning style. He imagines
format_bemis
eAudiobook
eBook
eBook
format_category_bemis
Audio Books
eBook
eBook
id
40cb8e58-ad82-5c2d-4bdf-dbee71e41310
isbn
9781461815112
9781616201142
9781616201142
last_indexed
2024-04-19T03:35:35.164Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
primary_isbn
9781616201142
publishDate
2010
2011
2011
publisher
Algonquin Books
Recorded Books, Inc
Recorded Books, Inc
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Electronic books
Families -- Fiction
Fiction
Humor (Fiction)
Humorous fiction
Literature
Literature -- Fiction
Families -- Fiction
Fiction
Humor (Fiction)
Humorous fiction
Literature
Literature -- Fiction
title_display
Exley
title_full
Exley [electronic resource] / Brock Clarke
Exley [electronic resource]. Brock Clarke
Exley [electronic resource]. Brock Clarke
title_short
Exley
topic_facet
Electronic books
Families
Fiction
Humor (Fiction)
Literature
Families
Fiction
Humor (Fiction)
Literature
Solr Details Tables
item_details
Bib Id | Item Id | Shelf Loc | Call Num | Format | Format Category | Num Copies | Is Order Item | Is eContent | eContent Source | eContent URL | Detailed Status | Last Checkin | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
overdrivecmc:ODN0000630642 | ODN0000630642 | Overdrive (CMC) | Online Overdrive (CMC) | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | Overdrive (CMC) | http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=162&titleID=630642 | Available Online | Overdrive (CMC) | |
hoopla:MWT15570427 | Online Hoopla Collection | Online Hoopla | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | Hoopla | https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/15217270?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435 | Available Online | |||
hoopla:MWT13512643 | Online Hoopla Collection | Online Hoopla | eAudiobook | Audio Books | 1 | false | true | Hoopla | https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13512643?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435 | Available Online |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
overdrivecmc:ODN0000630642 | eBook | eBook | English | 2011 | 1 online resource | |||
hoopla:MWT15570427 | eBook | eBook | English | Algonquin Books | 2011 | 1 online resource (320 pages) | ||
hoopla:MWT13512643 | eAudiobook | Audio Books | Unabridged | English | Recorded Books, Inc | 2010 | 1 online resource (1 audio file (10hr., 35 min.)) : digital. |
scoping_details_bemis
Bib Id | Item Id | Grouped Status | Status | Locally Owned | Available | Holdable | Bookable | In Library Use Only | Library Owned | Holdable PTypes | Bookable PTypes | Local Url |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
hoopla:MWT15570427 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | false | false | false | false | ||||
hoopla:MWT13512643 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | false | false | false | false |