The Free

Willy Vlautin demonstrates his extraordinary talent in his heartbreaking yet hopeful new novel, a tale that illuminates the disquiet of modern American life through three memorable charactersSeverely wounded in the Iraq war, Leroy Kervin has lived in a group home for eight years. Frustrated by the s [...]
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Willy Vlautin demonstrates his extraordinary talent in his heartbreaking yet hopeful new novel, a tale that illuminates the disquiet of modern American life through three memorable charactersSeverely wounded in the Iraq war, Leroy Kervin has lived in a group home for eight years. Frustrated by the simplest daily routines, he finds his existence has become unbearable. An act of desperation helps him disappear deep into his mind, into a world of romance and science fiction, danger and adventure where he is whole once again.Freddie McCall, the night man at Leroy s group home, works two jobs yet still can t make ends meet. He s lost his wife and kids, and the house is next. Medical bills have buried him in debt, a situation that propels him to consider a lucrative and dangerous proposition.Pauline Hawkins, a nurse, cares for the sick and wounded, including Leroy. She also looks after her mentally ill elderly father. Yet she remains emotionally removed, until she meets a young runaway who touches something deep and unexpected inside her.In crystalline prose, both beautiful and devastating, this major realist talent ("Seattle Post-Intelligencer") considers the issues transforming ordinary people s lives the cost of health care, the lack of economic opportunity, the devastating scars of war creating an extraordinary contemporary portrait that is also a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.