



This Is How
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2.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Longlisted for the Orange Prize and the Portico Prize for Literature in 2010.
When his fiancée breaks off their engagement, Patrick Oxtoby leaves home and moves to a boarding house in a seaside town. But in spite of his hopes and determination to build a better life, nothing goes to plan and Patrick is soon driven to take a desperate and chilling course of action.
This is How is a mesmerizing and meticulously drawn portrait of a man whose unease in the world leads to his tragic undoing.
Written with breathtaking wisdom and an astute insight into the human mind, the award-winning M.J. Hyland's third novel is a masterpiece that inspires horror and sympathy in equal measure.
'Unflinching, absorbing, morally complex...an eerie, commanding book...a novel about crime but not a crime novel...thrilling, moving and compassionate.' New York Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hyland's clever prose is first-rate, but wit makes a weak substitute for insight in this novel about a deeply troubled young Englishman who seeks a fresh start, only to end up facing serious criminal charges. As a child, the unreliable 23-year-old narrator, Patrick Oxtoby, was an excellent student, but after a breakdown at age 14 he became fascinated with mechanics. Now, shortly after his fianc e leaves him, he lands in a small seaside town, takes a job at an auto repair shop and moves into a boarding house he can't afford. It seems as if Hyland misses every opportunity to delve into the roots of Patrick's awkwardness: his landlady and a local waitress provide him fantasy material, and it's clear, even from Patrick's problematic perspective, that he comes across as creepy. Nonetheless, both women inexplicably trust him, just as his parents and older brother appear to love and encourage him until his arrest, at which point, and without explanation, they abandon him. Hyland (Carry Me Down) sails across Patrick's dark exterior with humor and empathy, but as with everyone Patrick encounters, she hesitates to dive below the surface.