…stunning…The Harder They Come …is very much a showcase for all of Mr. Boyle's storytelling talents. It's gripping, funny and melancholy, and opens out from the miseries of a father and his troubled son into a resonant meditation on the American frontier ethos and propensity for violencea dramatic novelistic rendering, in many ways, of the scholar Richard Slotkin's pioneering studies on the mythology of the American West…From the novel's thrilling set piece of a start…to its pensive conclusion, The Harder They Come is a masterlyand arrestingpiece of storytelling, arguably Mr. Boyle's most powerful, kinetic novel yet.
The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani
12/01/2014 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. (Mar.)
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)
“[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
“...A full-throated Harley Davidson of a novel... using some of fiction’s least fashionable attributes, social realism, pointed action...to brilliantly dissect America’s love affair with violence…[Boyle’s] prose manages to be both vivid and sharp, patient and pressing.. Boyle’s writing never loses energy or descriptive power.” — Los Angeles Times
“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
“...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)
“This new work of fiction from Boyle presents a fractured threesome: a 70-year-old ex-Marine, his troubled son and the son’s older girlfriend-a right-wing anarchist. A dark novel, The Harder They Come explores violence and the American psyche.” — Houston Chronicle
“T.C. Boyle again explores his favorite territory, the American psyche, in The Harder They Come , a gripping novel about an aging Vietnam vet and his mentally unstable son, out in April.” — Tampa Bay Times
“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
“Boyle’s...hypnotic narrative probes the complexities of heroism, violence, power, and resistance...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.” — Publishers Weekly
“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
“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.” — Booklist
“New York Times-best-selling author T.C. Boyle explores the volatile relationships between an aging veteran, his unstable son, and the son’s much older lover in The Harder They Come .” — Buzzfeed, 27 Of The Most Exciting New Books of 2015
“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
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
“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
“The Harder They Come is the 66-year-old Boyle’s 15th novel, displaying his characteristic energy, smart cultural references and talent for physical description. It’s the emotional element that takes second place here, though, leaving an unfinished feel to the work.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer
“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
“...The pendulum swings back to high-adrenaline zaniness and pertinacious, destructive misfits. Individualism remains central, but unlike San Miguel, it’s far from contemplative. It is a juggernaut, twisted to borderline psychotic.” — BookPage
“[S]tunning… It’s gripping, funny and melancholy…The Harder They Come is a masterly - and arresting - piece of storytelling, arguably Mr. Boyle’s most powerful, kinetic novel yet.” — Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
“[A] searing and masterful account of American violence and disaffection.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“[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
“Boyle’s tart and exuberant powers of description, of people and places, and his cheerful black humor are as exhilarating as ever.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“The Harder They Come is the 66-year-old Boyle’s 15th novel, and it displays his characteristic energy, smart cultural references and talent for physical description.” — Dallas Morning News
“Boyle always writes well and has never shied away from challenging issues.” — Houston Chronicle
“A gripping read and a powerful commentary on American themes of self-reliance and anti-authoritarianism… eerily prescient.” — The Brooklyn Rail
“In his 15th novel, the author of The Tortilla Curtain and Drop City probes the psyches of three combustible characters... Sparks will fly.” — Newsday
“Like the best of his work, Boyle’s no-frills narration makes for a fascinating journey up to the final page.” — Paste Magazine
“T.C. Boyle is a master at exposing the American psyche in his fiction. His new novel The Harder They Come is yet another stunning example, an engaging portrait of family, violence, and anarchy.” — Largehearted Boy
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.
[T]hrilling… Boyle can paint a scene in vibrant colors…. [with] characters, who, to his credit, occupy a dark space between psychosis and Americana...
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.
...A full-throated Harley Davidson of a novel... using some of fiction’s least fashionable attributes, social realism, pointed action...to brilliantly dissect America’s love affair with violence…[Boyle’s] prose manages to be both vivid and sharp, patient and pressing.. Boyle’s writing never loses energy or descriptive power.
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.
The Harder They Come is the 66-year-old Boyle’s 15th novel, and it displays his characteristic energy, smart cultural references and talent for physical description.
T.C. Boyle is a master at exposing the American psyche in his fiction. His new novel The Harder They Come is yet another stunning example, an engaging portrait of family, violence, and anarchy.
[A] searing and masterful account of American violence and disaffection.
The Harder They Come is the 66-year-old Boyle’s 15th novel, displaying his characteristic energy, smart cultural references and talent for physical description. It’s the emotional element that takes second place here, though, leaving an unfinished feel to the work.
[S]tunning… It’s gripping, funny and melancholy…The Harder They Come is a masterly - and arresting - piece of storytelling, arguably Mr. Boyle’s most powerful, kinetic novel yet.
...The pendulum swings back to high-adrenaline zaniness and pertinacious, destructive misfits. Individualism remains central, but unlike San Miguel, it’s far from contemplative. It is a juggernaut, twisted to borderline psychotic.
Boyle’s tart and exuberant powers of description, of people and places, and his cheerful black humor are as exhilarating as ever.
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.
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.
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.
This new work of fiction from Boyle presents a fractured threesome: a 70-year-old ex-Marine, his troubled son and the son’s older girlfriend-a right-wing anarchist. A dark novel, The Harder They Come explores violence and the American psyche.
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.
★ 12/01/2014 An elderly California couple's vacation cruise is turned upside down when bandits attack their party at a Central American nature preserve. Former high school principal and Vietnam vet Sten Stensen reacts with unexpected fury when an armed thief approaches him, strangling him to death. While viewed as a hero back home, Sten's disturbed by the violence that's visited his life and will deal with more as the mental state of his emotionally troubled adult son, Adam, grows worse. A paranoid survivalist who fashions himself after 19th-century mountain man John Coulter, Adam has taken up with another disquieted soul, Sara, a local farrier and proponent of radical right-wing ideas. A fight with his parents after they sell his late grandmother's cabin, where he has been living, sends him spiraling downward. He retreats to a deep-woods bunker with his weapons where his shooting of a perceived "alien" will set off a massive manhunt. VERDICT Inspired by a true story (and also echoing recent events in Pennsylvania), Boyle tellingly explores the anger, paranoia, and violence lurking in the shadowlands of the American psyche. A powerful and profoundly unsettling tale. [See Prepub Alert, 9/22/14.]—Lawrence Rungren, Andover, MA
2014-12-17 Violence corrodes the ideal of freedom in an ambitious novel that aims to illuminate the dark underbelly of the American dream.In the prolific Boyle's latest (San Miguel, 2012, etc.), the estrangement between a father and son provides the plot's pivot. The father is 70-year-old Sten Stensen, a Vietnam Marine vet and later a high school principal, whose military training comes in handy when he's among a group ambushed during a cruise. Three armed robbers threaten the group, and Sten kills one of them. He initially fears he might face criminal prosecution in Central America but subsequently finds himself hailed as a hero. In his mind, "He'd done what anybody would have done, anybody who wasn't a natural-born victim, anyway." There's a hint of xenophobia in his attitude, a dismissal of a foreign culture where life is cheap and values ambiguous and where expediency has him cooperating with officials who let him know he has done them a favor. Sten has never been a hero to his son, Adam, a troubled youth since his days in his dad's high school, now a self-styled mountain man on the outskirts of Fort Bragg, California. In Adam, Sten sees the chickens coming home to roost, the propensity for violence that they share twisted by drugs and paranoia. Adam has become involved with a right-wing anarchist 15 years his senior, who seems to be in the novel mainly to distinguish her misguided politics from his insanity. And even Adam and Sten function more as types and symbols than individuals, though Boyle remains a master at sustaining narrative momentum as the sense of foreboding darkens and deepens. Boyle's vision and ambition remain compelling, though his characters here seem like plot devices.
...A full-throated Harley Davidson of a novel... using some of fiction’s least fashionable attributes, social realism, pointed action...to brilliantly dissect America’s love affair with violence…[Boyle’s] prose manages to be both vivid and sharp, patient and pressing.. Boyle’s writing never loses energy or descriptive power.
New York Times-best-selling author T.C. Boyle explores the volatile relationships between an aging veteran, his unstable son, and the son’s much older lover in The Harder They Come .
27 Of The Most Exciting New Books of 2015 Buzzfeed
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.
Like the best of his work, Boyle’s no-frills narration makes for a fascinating journey up to the final page.
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.
Boyle is a genius at capturing social microcosms and excavating emotions simmering beneath the surface of contemporary America...A gripping and revelatory tale.
A gripping read and a powerful commentary on American themes of self-reliance and anti-authoritarianism… eerily prescient.
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.
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.
In his 15th novel, the author of The Tortilla Curtain and Drop City probes the psyches of three combustible characters... Sparks will fly.
[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.
[A] searing and masterful account of American violence and disaffection.
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.
[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.
Graham Hamilton gives life to this dark story of murder and the complexities of parenting, set amid the small towns and great woods of the Northern California coast. Both understated and full of dark foreboding, Hamilton’s performance echoes the lives—simultaneously humdrum and horrifying—revealed in the plot. His rapid, matter-of-fact delivery adds credibility to the sometimes surreal thinking of Boyle’s more eccentric characters. And without detracting from his authority as narrator, his delivery of dialogue allows the listener to identify distinct personalities. Those fond of Boyle’s recent work will find this a great listen. F.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine