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Grab on to Me Tightly as If I Knew the Way (P.S.)
by Bryan Charles

Grab on to Me Tightly as If I Knew the Way (P.S.) Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A wise, bighearted, and hilarious look at one teenager's life by a remarkable new voice in contemporary fiction.

It's 1992, and as Vim Sweeney deals with the recent end of his high school career and the uncertainty of his future, America shares his angst. In Seattle, Kurt Cobain reeks of teen spirit. In Washington, George Bush (the first one) has just finished rattling his saber at Saddam Hussein. And in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Vim is trying to put off adulthood and all that comes with it, whatever that is, for as long as he can. He's already juggling guitars, girls, and a long-absent biological father who's suddenly making noise about Wanting to Be Involved. And he still can't convince his friends why local schoolboy hero Derek Jeter is bound for obscurity.

Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way traces Vim's stumble toward adulthood as he comes to terms with his parents, balances friendships and infatuation with varying levels of success, and accepts that the things he thought would last forever probably won't. Generous in spirit and laugh-out-loud funny, here is a novel that introduces a tremendous new talent and deftly captures the alternately amusing and harrowing process of holding on until you find your way.

Review:

"Recent high school grad Vincent Sweeney, though unmistakably sweet, also masquerades as crass, courts his own demise by baiting bar thugs, nurses rock star fantasies with his band, Judy Lumpers (it's grungy in 1992 Kalamazoo, Mich.), and plays indifferent after losing his virginity in a one-night stand. After flippantly quitting his dishwashing job, Vim (from a childhood mispronunciation) runs up against his stepfather's blue-collar bitterness with quiet acceptance and embarks on a short-distance road trip. Fits of rage and exaggerated lust, tinged with self-loathing, erupt from within a searing numbness, which puzzles Vim, and which he parses using lyrics from the like of Jim Morrison, Fugazi and Nirvana. Charles, in this debut, gives Vim an unevenly self-aware first person, making large portions of the book read like a vague, angry diary; they're dull, but come through as convincingly natural and make moments of connection (as with a bandmate's girlfriend) take on a special glow. (June 16)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Charles draws a loving if unforgiving portrait of the seedy, semirural Midwest. His approach — plenty of heart and laugh-out-loud humor — will invite comparisons to Nick Hornby, but let it be said that Charles does it his way." Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist (starred review)

Review:

"As brave and funny a debut as I?ve read in a long time." Sam Lipsyte

Review:

"Shoots into you like a bolt of electricity, sparking all kinds of excited feelings about art and life and writing." Thomas Beller

Review:

"Charles will get inside your brain and make sense of it for you once and for all." Elizabeth Crane
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About the Author

Bryan Charles was born in Michigan and lives in Brooklyn. His writing has appeared in Open City and the anthology Before and After: Stories From New York. This is his first novel.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Abbadabba77, March 27, 2007 (view all comments by Abbadabba77)
A book that you won't want to put down. It's a quick read, romantic and sad, funny and clever.
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t0wolf, December 15, 2006 (view all comments by t0wolf)
Charles' characters are raw and full of obscure dialogue and irrational thought much like the midwests copy of the Seattle scene. For those that lived through it, the images and situations described incur a "Brainstorm" of thoughts and memories that were once numbed or driven out by the experimentation of drugs and alchohol.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060882983
Author:
Charles, Bryan
Publisher:
Harper Perennial
Author:
by Bryan Charles
Subject:
General
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Humorous
Subject:
Fathers and sons
Subject:
Teenage boys
Subject:
Nineteen nineties.
Subject:
General Fiction
Series:
P.S.
Publication Date:
June 2006
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
213
Dimensions:
8.02x5.32x.59 in. .41 lbs.
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