Présentation de l'éditeur
Eddie's Bastard spins the warm, endearing tale of William Amos Mann IV and of the inhabitants of his eponymous small upstate New York town, Mannville.
Related in flashback by the adult Billy, the story begins with him being deposited as an infant on the doorstep of his grandfather's home in a simple wicker basket with a plain two-word message pinned to his shawl reading 'Eddie's Bastard'. Eddie had been killed in Vietnam three months earlier - his father, Thomas Mann Jnr, had given up on life, having lost his only son and, he thought, his only heir. But now, suddenly, Thomas has a grandson and an heir - if not to the once-vast Mann fortune (for Thomas had recklessly squandered that in a foolhardy enterprise just after his heroic return from WWII), then at least to the long legacy of the Mann family stories, stretching back to the Civil War.
Eddie's Bastard is filled with episodes of madcap adventure and resonates with the power of lifelong friendship. By turns hilarious, thrilling and heart-breaking, here is a début that stays in the mind long after the reading is over.
Revue de presse
"'A remarkable début'" (
Time Out)
"'A book written with such elegance, maturity and humour it is difficult to believe that the author is only 28 years old'" (
The Good Book Guide)
"'Clever, emotional storytelling with laughs, tears, and love'" (
The Times)
"'Wickedly funny and genuinely moving'" (
Attitude)
Quatrième de couverture
Billy was deposited as an infant on the doorstep of Thomas Mann's home in a simple wicker basket with a plain two-word message pinned to his shawl reading 'Eddie's Bastard'. Eddie, Thomas's son, had been killed in Vietnam three months earlier, and his father had given up on life, having lost his only son. But now, suddenly, Thomas has a grandson and an heir - if not to the once-vast Mann fortune (for Thomas recklessly squandered that in a foolhardy enterprise involving ostriches just after his heroic return from the Second World War), then at least to the long legacy of the Mann family stories, stretching back to the Civil War.
In this rich, deeply resonant literary début, William Kowalski explores the power of family, the meaning of history, and the bonds of individuals united and divided by love. By turns hilarious, thrilling and heart-breaking, Eddie's Bastard is a novel that stays in the mind long after the reading is over.
Biographie de l'auteur
William Kowalski is the author of EDDIE'S BASTARD, winner of South Africa's Exclusive Books Ama-Boeke Prize; SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF HERE, THE ADVENTURES OF FLASH JACKSON and THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR, all published by Black Swan. Born in Ohio and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, he now lives in Nova Scotia, Canada with his wife and two daughters.
