Flick
A Novel
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"Abigail Tarttelin is a fearless writer." —Emily St. John Mandel, author of the National Book Award finalist, Station Eleven
From the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of Golden Boy comes Abigail Tarttelin's debut novel, written when she was just nineteen and never before published in America, a modern-day Romeo and Juliet about sex, love, and growing up.
My name is Flick and these are my images of my disconnected life, my forgettable weeks and unforgettable weekends. I am one of the disaffected youth.
Marooned by a lack of education (and lack of anything better to do), Will Flicker, a.k.a. "Flick," spends most days pondering the artistry behind being a stoner, whether Pepsi is better than Coke, and how best to get clear of his tiny, one-horse suburb. But Flick senses there’s something else out there waiting for him, and the sign comes in the form of the new girl in town—a confident, unconventionally beautiful girl named Rainbow. As their relationship develops, Flick finds himself torn between the twisted loyalty he feels to his old life and the pull of freedom that Rainbow represents.
The story unfolds in a small factory town in northern England, where bleak and sometimes treacherous circumstances make the taste of a love affair even sweeter. Told with humor and raw honesty, in a voice "both authentic and compelling" (GQ, UK), Flick captures an unforgettable moment in the life of a young man on the verge.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The postindustrial town of Redcar on the rusting seaside of northern England is the setting for Brit actress Tarttelin's debut novel, a place filled with aimless youth, closed factories , and loads of drugs. It's here that schoolboy William S. Flicker (Flick to his friends), drinks, smokes, snorts, and wanks his way through his final year before university as he prepares to take his entrance exams. Despite fancying himself a ladies man, life for Flick is boring, predictable, and virginal until he meets the new girl in town, Rainbow. An orphan raised by lesbian mothers, Rainbow is smart; she watches foreign films, reads books on art and politics, and opens a window onto the outside world for Flick while they gradually fall in love. What follows for Flick is a journey of personal discovery and self-improvement until life in Redcar intrudes upon the couple's happiness. When Fez, the local drug dealer, demands that Flick help him with a "package," the consequences are dire. Tarttelin captures the blush of a first romance and the patter and pace of the inhabitants of northern England but the story is familiar: the English antihero drug addict, complete with musical citations and pop cultural references. The novel does, however, come with a soundtrack available for download. An ambitious effort, but little substance .
