Böcker av Ron McLarty

Andy works for one of the last of the big time Hollywood Moguls and his world is turned upside down when his brother, Jackie, who disappeared while working in Africa suddenly turns up on his doorstep. Jackie had been held prisoner in a small drought ridden village and returns to the USA having gone through a mysterious spiritual transformation that confounds his brother and captivates everyone he meets. Jackie and Andy's journey is a wild ride that in a single moment can be both mordantly funny and deeply touching. This razor-sharp satire is filled with the kind of characters and imagination that are the hallmarks of Ron McLarty's writing.

"McLarty's storytelling skills shine in this ribald, riotously funny, but also poignant novel." -David BaldacciWith his first two novels, Ron McLarty won acclaim for fashioning authentic characters that hook readers from the first page. With Art in America, McLarty has invented another unforgettable protagonist in one failed writer, Steven Kearney. Hired by the Creedemore Historical Society to write and direct a play about the rural Southern Colorado town, he unwittingly stumbles into a range war over property rights, a media circus, a diabolical plan that threatens the very safety of the town-and, with the help of a little romance, newfound self-confidence. With its sprawling cast of vivid characters and spellbinding pace, Art in America confirms Ron McLarty's enormous talent.

Jono Riley is an aging bartender and part-time actor struggling to make ends meet in Manhattan. But news of the sudden death of his childhood friend and first true love, Marie D'Agostino, compels Jono to return home for her funeral. As he journeys to Rhode Island, Jono revisits his shadowy past - his three best friends and a series of mysterious shootings that occurred all that time ago.Once home, Jono finds himself drawn into an attempt to find the person responsible for the shootings. Slowly he discovers his childhood friends are not who he thought they were . . .

Smithson Ide's life so far has led him nowhere. He's 43 years old, weighs 279 pounds, and keeps himself numb with food and alcohol. His only emotional ties are to his parents and to the memory of his older sister, Bethany, who has been missing for 20 years. Then his parents die in a car crash and he learns of Bethany's death in LA County. Suddenly there isn't enough beer in the world to keep Smithy from his feelings.Drunk and bereft, he takes his old Raleigh bicycle and starts cycling. Once he starts, he can't stop and then he's riding across America to recover his sister. Along the way he meets all sorts of people who help or hinder him. He hears the confession of a priest, he rescues a boy from a snow storm, he has a gun pointed in his face, he's hit by a truck and helps a man dying of AIDS.Smithy's ride is an extraordinary quest, to rediscover the past and memories of Bethany, but it's also his journey back to life.