Synopses & Reviews
Acclaimed
New York Times bestselling author T.C. Boyle makes his Ecco debut with 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. Adams 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 fathers 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.
Review
“The latest from a prolific and acclaimed novelist, The Harder They Come is a family saga that maps the relationships between the three people at its heart, as their potent mix of violence and paranoia urges them toward tragedy.” Huffington Post
Review
“...Boyle tellingly explores the anger, paranoia, and violence lurking in the shadowlands of the American psyche. A powerful and profoundly unsettling tale.” Library Journal (starred review)
Review
“This new work of fiction from Boyle presents a fractured threesome: a 70-year-old ex-Marine, his troubled son and the sons older girlfriend-a right-wing anarchist. A dark novel, The Harder They Come explores violence and the American psyche.” Houston Chronicle
Review
“T.C. Boyle again explores his favorite territory, the American psyche, in , a gripping novel about an aging Vietnam vet and his mentally unstable son, out in April.” Tampa Bay Times
Review
“When precisely...does T.C. Boyle sleep? In the 35 years since his first book came out, Boyle has published 14 novels and more than 100 stories. The Harder They Come is the usual T.C. Boyle...circus of serious-minded zaniness.” The Millions
Review
“Written with both clarity and compassion, each of the novels 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.” Booklist
Review
“Boyle has long been one of the most exciting and intelligent storytellers in the United States. His upcoming novel describes a mentally ill young man involved with a group of violent anarchists.” Washington Post
Review
“New York Times-best-selling author T.C. Boyle explores the volatile relationships between an aging veteran, his unstable son, and the sons much older lover in The Harder They Come.” Buzzfeed, 27 Of The Most Exciting New Books of 2015
Review
“A maximalist scribe of gothic melodrama, Boyle takes you on a manhunt through Californian pot groves, grisly Caribbean cruises, and Orwellian animal shelters before landing in horribly familiar territory: a disillusioned psychotic white guy with a gun. Still, plenty of sex, booze, and satire to lighten things up.” GQ
Review
Fifteen years ago, Boyle told The Paris Review that he was ‘writing novels of social engagement...These same concerns appear in The Harder They Come... It is not a cheerful book. The best ones never are.” Newsweek
Review
“Set in Northern California and rooted in actual events, The Harder They Come is a meditation on violence, specifically in the context of American history and culture. The text examines the connections between three damaged and explosive yet sympathetic people.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Review
“The Harder They Come is the 66-year-old Boyles 15th novel, displaying his characteristic energy, smart cultural references and talent for physical description. Its the emotional element that takes second place here, though, leaving an unfinished feel to the work.” Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review
“Boyle is a genius at capturing social microcosms and excavating emotions simmering beneath the surface of contemporary America...A gripping and revelatory tale.” BBC Between the Lines
Review
“...The pendulum swings back to high-adrenaline zaniness and pertinacious, destructive misfits. Individualism remains central, but unlike San Miguel, its far from contemplative. It is a juggernaut, twisted to borderline psychotic.” BookPage
Review
“[S]tunning… Its gripping, funny and melancholy…The Harder They Come is a masterly - and arresting - piece of storytelling, arguably Mr. Boyles most powerful, kinetic novel yet.” Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
Review
“...A full-throated Harley Davidson of a novel... using some of fictions least fashionable attributes, social realism, pointed action...to brilliantly dissect Americas love affair with violence…[Boyles] prose manages to be both vivid and sharp, patient and pressing.. Boyles writing never loses energy or descriptive power.” Los Angeles Times
Review
“[A] searing and masterful account of American violence and disaffection.” San Francisco Chronicle
Review
“The Harder They Come has no solutions to the delusions and dysfunctions it portrays. But it taps memorably into something deeply skewed in the American psyche.” The Oregonian (Portland)
Review
“[M]arvelous… thrilling, intense... [T]he story and the characters...are amazing. Early in his career, Boyle could be pointlessly intense... His late style...is something to behold; it has the same verve and pace, but in service now to an adroit realism. ” USA Today
Review
“[T]hrilling… Boyle can paint a scene in vibrant colors…. [with] characters, who, to his credit, occupy a dark space between psychosis and Americana...” Entertainment Weekly
Review
“Boyles tart and exuberant powers of description, of people and places, and his cheerful black humor are as exhilarating as ever.” Minneapolis Star Tribune
Synopsis
On a cruise to Central America, seventy-year-old Sten Stensen kills an armed robber menacing a busload of tourists. The reluctant hero is relieved to return home to Fort Bragg, California—only to find that his delusional son, Adam, has become involved with Sara, a hardened member of a right-wing anarchist group. Adam's senior by fifteen years, she becomes his protector and inamorata. As Adam's mental state fractures, he becomes increasingly schizophrenic—on the run after two shooting incidents, 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 insights into the American psyche. Inspired by a true story, The Harder They Come is an indelible novel from a modern master.
About the Author
T.C. Boyle is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the late 1970s, he has published fourteen novels and ten collections of short stories. He won the PEN/Faulkner award in 1988 for his novel World's End, and the Prix Médicis étranger for The Tortilla Curtain in 1995, as well as the 2014 Henry David Thoreau award for excellence in nature writing. He is a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California and lives in Santa Barbara.