The Harder They Come
A Novel
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3.9 • 103 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A powerful, gripping novel that explores the roots of violence and anti-authoritarianism inherent in the American character.
Set in contemporary Northern California, The Harder They Come explores the volatile connections between three damaged people—an aging ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran, his psychologically unstable son, and the son's paranoid, much older lover—as they careen towards an explosive confrontation.
On a vacation cruise to Central America with his wife, seventy-year-old Sten Stensen unflinchingly kills a gun-wielding robber menacing a busload of senior tourists. The reluctant hero is relieved to return home to Fort Bragg, California, after the ordeal—only to find that his delusional son, Adam, has spiraled out of control.
Adam has become involved with Sara Hovarty Jennings, a hardened member of the Sovereign Citizens’ Movement, right-wing anarchists who refuse to acknowledge the laws and regulations of the state, considering them to be false and non-applicable. Adam’s senior by some fifteen years, Sara becomes his protector and inamorata. As Adam's mental state fractures, he becomes increasingly schizophrenic—a breakdown that leads him to shoot two people in separate instances. On the run, he takes to the woods, spurring the biggest manhunt in California history.
As he explores a father’s legacy of violence and his powerlessness in relating to his equally violent son, T. C. Boyle offers unparalleled psychological insights into the American psyche. Inspired by a true story, The Harder They Come is a devastating and indelible novel from a modern master.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Boyle's (San Miguel) hypnotic narrative probes the complexities of heroism, violence, power, and resistance. At its heart are ex-Marine and retired school principal "Sten" Stensen and his schizophrenic son, Adam, who arms himself against shadowy "hostiles" and identifies with heroic 19th-century wilderness guide John Colter. On vacation in Costa Rica, Sten kills a gunman attempting to rob his tour group. Back home in Mendocino, Calif., he becomes an instant celebrity for his act of vigilante justice, and he is drawn into a citizen brigade whose mission is to protect nearby forests from the South American drug cartels that despoil the land. Meanwhile, Adam forms a tenuous, lust-fueled bond with anti-government activist Sara Jennings. Driven further into delusion by her brushes with the law and his physical confrontation with his father, Adam flees for his secret camp in the woods; when one of the citizen patrollers challenges him, Adam shoots that man, and soon another. As the manhunt intensifies, Sten realizes his son's involvement and his own inability to change his son's fate. Written with both clarity and compassion, each of the novel's characters inhabits a rich and convincing private world. As they traverse a landscape none of them control, their haunting stories illuminate the violent American battle with otherness.
Customer Reviews
The Harder They Come
One of Boyle's best along with World's End.
His character's ring true as manifestations of the new American west.
The pain of the family in the wake of Colter's madness feels real.
You wonder if Boyle can keep it up as his work tends to veer wildly from profound to marginal.
The harder they Come
The first chapter was a nice gritty piece about a couple of tourists finding the underbelly of Costa Rica. The sample chapter-- then I bought the book- big mistake it morphed into sone middle aged woman's nightmare life -- I couldn't continue even sky reading it I want my money back!!! This might pass for talent in some convoluted minds. I would call it a product of the soil.
The title is not original..
I thought I was about to read a real life experience base in Jamaica during the 1970's.
There is even a movie with this very same name.