The Reason You're Alive
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- 4,99 €
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- 4,99 €
Publisher Description
When sixty-eight-year-old Vietnam War veteran David Granger wakes up from emergency surgery, he finds himself repeating a name: Clayton Fire Bear, a soldier from whom he stole something long ago. And now, David knows he must make amends. It might be the only way to find happiness in a world increasingly at odds with the one he served to protect, and it might also help him recover from the loss of the wife he grieves for every day.
Motivated by his adoring young granddaughter, Ella, David sets out to confront his past in order to salvage his present. Grumpy and argumentative he may be, but ultimately The Reason You're Alive challenges us to look beyond our own prejudices and search for the good in others.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Meet David Granger, the bigoted 68-year-old Vietnam veteran and narrator of Quick's (The Silver Linings Playbook) dark, funny, and surprisingly tender new novel. After a brain tumor is removed, Granger allows some unknown government lackey to transcribe his life story: a patriotic, often cynical, sometimes paranoid, but always engaging recitation. He shares the horrors of Vietnam and his encounter with Clayton Fire Bear, the fake name of a Native American to whom he owes an apology. He describes his family relationships: his love for his granddaughter; his semi-estrangement with Hank, his pretentious son; and his tragic marriage to Hank's mother, Jessica, which began as an effort to save her life after being raped and impregnated and ended years later with her suicide. Granger's life is rife with instances that either prove or belie his reputation as a xenophobic, racist homophobe. Identifying the "you" in the title proves illuminating; is it Clayton Fire Bear, Hank who until now was ignorant about his paternity or Granger himself, who tried and failed to keep Jessica's demons at bay and too late realized she returned the favor with more subtlety and success?
