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Title details for The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner - Available

The Flamethrowers

A Novel

by Rachel Kushner
Rachel Kushner
Audiobook
1 of 6 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 6 copies available
* Selected as ONE of the BEST BOOKS of the 21st CENTURY by The New York Times * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * New York magazine's #1 Book of the Year * Best Book of the Year by: The Wall Street Journal; Vogue; O, The Oprah Magazine; Los Angeles Times; The San Francisco Chronicle; The New Yorker; Time; Flavorwire; Salon; Slate; The Daily Beast
"Superb...Scintillatingly alive...A pure explosion of now."—The New Yorker

Reno, so-called because of the place of her birth, comes to New York intent on turning her fascination with motorcycles and speed into art. Her arrival coincides with an explosion of activity—artists colonize a deserted and industrial SoHo, stage actions in the East Village, blur the line between life and art. Reno is submitted to a sentimental education of sorts—by dreamers, poseurs, and raconteurs in New York and by radicals in Italy, where she goes with her lover to meet his estranged and formidable family. Ardent, vulnerable, and bold, Reno is a fiercely memorable observer, superbly realized by Rachel Kushner.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 26, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797142296
      • File size: 445322 KB
      • Duration: 15:27:45

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Christina Traister's narration reflects 21-year-old Reno's charged emotions as she moves to New York City and the 1970s Greenwich Village art scene. An aspiring artist, Reno comes from "reckless, unsentimental people," and she loves two things: drawing and speed. Reno falls for Sandro, the son of an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. Traister easily handles the flashbacks highlighting Sandro's father's life, from his childhood in Egypt to his horrific WWI experiences to the founding of his motorcycle empire. Traister's performance makes Kushner's superb prose credible, beautifully reflecting the art world and political upheavals of the period. FLAMETHROWERS was a finalist of the 2013 National Book Awards, as was Kushner's earlier work TELEX FROM CUBA in 2008. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 18, 2013
      This rich second novel from Kushner (Telex from Cuba) takes place in late-’70s New York City and Italy. Reno is a young filmmaker “shopping for experiences,” who, as the novel opens, is attempting to set a land-speed record on her Moto Valera motorcycle in Nevada, only to crash instead. A flashback to New York finds her mixing with a group of artists, among whom she meets Sandro Valera, whose wealthy family manufactures the Moto Valera. Soon they are romantically entwined, and Reno accompanies Sandro on a visit home to Italy. She risks alienating the Valeras by going to their factory to film labor unrest, only to catch Sandro there in flagrante delicto with his cousin Talia. Distraught, she flees with Valera family servant Gianni to Rome, where she discovers Gianni is involved with a volatile protest movement. Snippets from the life of Sandro’s father’s run in intriguing contrast to Reno’s story, presenting his WWI experiences, childhood in Alexandria, Egypt, and the founding of his company. Kushner’s psychological explorations of her characters are incisive, the novel is peppered with subtle ’70s details, and it bursts with you-are-there depictions of its time and places. Agent Susan Golomb, Susan Golomb Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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