Recipe for Hate
The X Gang
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
How a group of Portland, Maine, punks defeated a murderous gang of neo-Nazis.
The X Gang is a group of punks led by the scarred, silent, and mostly unreadable Christopher X. His best friend, Kurt Blank, is a hulking and talented punk guitarist living in the closet. Sisters Patti and Betty Upchuck form the core of the feminist Punk Rock Virgins band, and are the closest to X and Kurt. Assorted hangers-on and young upstarts fill out the X Gang’s orbit: the Hot Nasties, the Social Blemishes, and even the legendary Joe Strummer of the Clash. Together, they’ve all but taken over Gary’s, an old biker bar. Then over one dark weekend, a bloody crime nearly brings it all to an end.
Based on real events, Warren Kinsella tells the story of the X Gang’s punk lives — the community hall gigs, the antiracism rallies, the fanzines and poetry and art, and what happened after the brutal murders of two of their friends.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
It’s the late ‘70s and the Ramones are defining a new kind of American rock. In Portland’s underground punk scene, a group of teens experience a defining moment of their own when two of their friends are murdered by Nazis. Recipe for Hate throws readers right into the moshpit of it all. Though the book’s themes are heavy, it’s a fast-paced read with well-drawn characters. This incredibly timely novel—inspired by real-life events—trains a keen eye on the hidden dynamics within subcultures and asks big questions about the nature of justice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Adult author Kinsella (Fight the Right) sets this riveting murder mystery in Portland, Maine, in the late 1970s. After the gruesome slaying of two of their friends, teenage punk musicians called the X gang are targeted by an unknown enemy and by "anti-punk hysteria" in their community. The group is named after its enigmatic leader, X, best friend to Kurt Lank, who narrates Kinsella's novel with a hard edge that befits its overall brutality ("For me, punk rock opened up this fucking huge range of creative possibilities for my art, for my photography, for my music and it did not give one shit, not one, if I was gay"). Compelled to defend their underground culture and frustrated by the police's inability to solve the murders, the X gang begins its own investigations, uncovering a neo-Nazi religious movement seeking to destroy punks and other undesirables; simultaneously, Kurt and the others try to discern which adults they can trust. Tension starts high and stays there in this unflinching page-turner, which offers a fascinating glimpse into the early punk scene and a moving testament to the power of friendship. Ages 14 up.
