Citizen Vince bookcover

Citizen Vince

A Novel
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21,000+ Reviews
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Description

Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year

“You just have to read it . . . . Utterly inventive. . . excruciatingly breathless." Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins: a riveting story of witness protection, petty thievery, local politics, and murder—set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1980 presidential election

It’s the fall of 1980, the last week before the presidential election that pits the downtrodden Jimmy Carter against the suspiciously sunny Ronald Reagan. In a seedy suburban house in Spokane, a small-time crook formerly from New York, Vince Camden, pockets his weekly allotment of stolen credit cards and heads off to his witness-protection job at a donut shop. At the shop he takes a shine to a regular named Kelly, who works for a local politician. Somehow he finds himself and the politician in a parking lot at three in the morning, giving the slip to a couple of menacing thugs. And then he crosses the path of a young detective—and discovers his credit-scam partner, lying dead in his passport-photo office with a Cheerio-size bullet-hole in his head. No one writing crime novels today tells a story or sketches a character with more freshness or élan than Jess Walter. Citizen Vince is his funniest and grittiest book yet.

Product Details

PublisherHarper Perennial
Publish DateAugust 15, 2006
Pages304
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconPaperback / softback
EAN/UPC9780060989293
Dimensions9.0 X 6.0 X 0.8 inches | 13.3 pounds

About the Author

Jess Walter is the author of seven previous novels, including the bestsellers The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins, the National Book Award Finalist The Zero, and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award for best novel. His short fiction, collected in The Angel of Rome and We Live in Water, has won the O. Henry Prize, the Pushcart Prize and appeared three times in Best American Short Stories. He lives in his hometown of Spokane, Washington.

Reviews

“Refreshing ... entertaining ... For readers who appreciate wry precision and expert timing, it may be enough to know that “Citizen Vince” arrives with sky-high praise from both Ken Bruen and Richard Russo, with whom Mr. Walter shares these qualities. For others, the book’s fusion of humor, crime and politics may be recommendation enough.” — Janet Maslin, New York Times

“You just have to read it ... Utterly inventive ... excruciatingly breathless … Maybe if Aaron Copland had written the score for a film noir starring the Marx Brothers there would be some prototype for Walter’s fusion fiction, but he didn’t and there isn’t.” — Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

“(An) immensely entertaining crime thriller and wry social commentary.” — Chicago Tribune

“Fresh and different—a gritty story of betrayal, and an extended riff on life, death, and politics. Walter is a literary talent writ large.” — Boston Globe

“It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book as compulsively, indeed greedily, as I read Citizen Vince. Here are characters who seem to live of their own volition, who talk out of a terrible inner need to make themselves known and understood, who reveal not just themselves but the yearning heart of our great flawed democracy.” — Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Empire Falls

“With a multitude of scruffy, likable characters and a hopping plot, the story moves along, at turns gritty, funny, poignant and, despite some bloody crimes, surprisingly charming.” — The Oregonian (Portland)

“Rich in robust characters ad wry dialogue, with agile prose, a big heart and a finely tuned plot.” — Seattle Times

“The magic—and, yes, that’s the correct word—of “Citizen Vince” comes from the character of the protagonist and the setting he finds himself in.” — Spokesman Review

“Admirably unpredictable ... a story full of wonderful small surprises. Dispassionate and compassionate by turns, and always engrossing. Walter’s best by far.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A splendidly entertaining, thoughtful book. . . . Jess Walter continues to impress.” — Sunday Telegraph

“This tale of unlikely redemption works because of Walter’s virtuoso command of character and dialogue—along with a wicked second-act twist. . . with its Capara-like spirit, it serves as a surprisingly satisfying antidote to the avalanche of cynical chatter emanating from this year’s political campaigns and commentators.” — Booklist

“What makes Walter’s third novel so enjoyable is Vince, a flawed but sympathetic character trying to find redemption.” — Library Journal

Citizen Vince is the book of 2005 for me. I flat-out adore it. The dialogue is marvelous, and the characters-man, they sing. It’s a stunning, moving piece of work.” — Ken Bruen, author of The Magdalene Martyrs

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