Rag Man
A Novel
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Suppose you quit your job, took out a second mortgage, and borrowed every penny of your in-laws' nest egg to start up a surefire new business. What if your partner ran off with all your money? What if you caught up with him? These are the questions Pete Hautman's hero faces in Rag Man, a wryly funny, Faustian tale of a good man going bad.
Mack MacWray's new clothing manufacturing company was wildly successful -- until the day his charming, street-savvy partner, Lars Larson, disappeared with all the assets, leaving Mack stuck with nothing but debts and shattered dreams. Devastated, Mack thinks he has nothing left to live for until, at the edge of a cliff on the idyllic Mexican resort of Isla Mujeres, he comes face-to-face with his former partner. Mack discovers something about himself that fateful afternoon -- that maybe he's not such a nice guy after all. After push comes to shove, Mack must live with what he has become. Mack returns to the U.S. with his moral compass demagnetized and discovers a world of opportunity. Without the ball and chain of guilt and accountability, making money is all but guaranteed. He transforms himself from bankrupt loser to hard-nosed success story -- but at what cost? His wife wants the old Mack back; her best friend wants Mack in bed; Lars's widow wants money (or revenge); and Detective Jerry Pleasant wants answers -- or maybe more.
As the pace quickens and tensions rise, these characters begin to surprise even themselves. Pete Hautman treads the line between psychological darkness and laugh-out-loud funny as he asks tough questions about the nature of good and evil -- and offers some unexpected answers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Can a man who has existed for years as a passive, unassuming plodder undergo a midlife epiphany and turn into a hard-charging, winner-take-all executive who no longer feels bound by the rules? Mack MacWray, a clothier from Minneapolis and the protagonist of Hautman's snappy new crime comedy, finds such a transition possible, but at a high cost. Mack's business has just gone belly up. Its downfall was Lars Larson, the velvet-tongued partner who absconded with all the company's cash, leaving Mack with debts, lawsuits and shattered confidence. He finds Larson in Mexico and watches, without lending any aid, as his former partner falls off a cliff and dies. The incident chills Mack, yet it also fills him with a strange sense of power: he no longer feels the need to meet any of his responsibilities or obligations. Mack emerges as a shark, pulling his company out of bankruptcy through a rough mix of selfishness, force and charm. He also cheats on his wife, steals when the opportunity arises and resorts to violence when necessary. When he finally realizes what he has become, it's too late for redemption. Enlivening his tale with deadpan humor and crisp dialogue, Hautman (Mr. Was; Drawing Dead) keeps things witty and light, but ultimately confronts the darkness that the plot promises. He draws on his talent for creating characters with quick strokes and scenes that move with lightning (if at times predictable) efficiency, and gives voice to a desire the ability to cast aside societal conventions that many of us secretly harbor, but few have the nerve to fulfill.
