Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The Car Thief

ebook

Described as "one of the best coming-of-age novels of the twentieth century," Theodore Weesner's modern American classic is now re-launched for a new generation of readers to discover. It's 1959. Sixteen-year-old Alex Housman has just stolen his fourteenth car and, frankly, doesn't know why. His divorced, working-class father grinds out the night shift at the local Chevy plant in Detroit, looking forward to the flask in his glove compartment and the open bottles of booze in his Flint, Michigan home. Abandoned and alone, father and son struggle to express a deep love for each other, even as Alex fills his day by juggling cheap thrills and a crushing depression. He cruises and steals, running from—and forcing run-ins with—the police, compelled by reasons he frustratingly can't put into words.

Then there's Irene Shaeffer, the pretty girl in school whose admiration Alex needs like a drug in order to get by. Broke and fighting to survive, Alex and his father face the realities of estrangement, incarceration, and even violence as their lives unfold toward the climactic episode that a New York Times reviewer called "one of the most profoundly powerful in American fiction." In this rich, beautifully crafted story, Weesner accomplishes a rare feat: He's written a transcendent piece of literature in deceptively simple language, painting a powerful portrait of a father and a son otherwise invisible among the mundane, everyday details of life in blue collar America. The Car Thief is true and enduring American classic.

This Astor + Blue Edition features a new introduction by the author. The novel has been slated for a major motion picture.


Expand title description text
Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions Llc Edition: 1

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9781938231018
  • Release date: May 18, 2012

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9781938231018
  • File size: 836 KB
  • Release date: May 18, 2012

Formats

OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Fiction Literature

Languages

English

Described as "one of the best coming-of-age novels of the twentieth century," Theodore Weesner's modern American classic is now re-launched for a new generation of readers to discover. It's 1959. Sixteen-year-old Alex Housman has just stolen his fourteenth car and, frankly, doesn't know why. His divorced, working-class father grinds out the night shift at the local Chevy plant in Detroit, looking forward to the flask in his glove compartment and the open bottles of booze in his Flint, Michigan home. Abandoned and alone, father and son struggle to express a deep love for each other, even as Alex fills his day by juggling cheap thrills and a crushing depression. He cruises and steals, running from—and forcing run-ins with—the police, compelled by reasons he frustratingly can't put into words.

Then there's Irene Shaeffer, the pretty girl in school whose admiration Alex needs like a drug in order to get by. Broke and fighting to survive, Alex and his father face the realities of estrangement, incarceration, and even violence as their lives unfold toward the climactic episode that a New York Times reviewer called "one of the most profoundly powerful in American fiction." In this rich, beautifully crafted story, Weesner accomplishes a rare feat: He's written a transcendent piece of literature in deceptively simple language, painting a powerful portrait of a father and a son otherwise invisible among the mundane, everyday details of life in blue collar America. The Car Thief is true and enduring American classic.

This Astor + Blue Edition features a new introduction by the author. The novel has been slated for a major motion picture.


Expand title description text