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Hard Revolution

Hard Revolution

by George Pelecanos (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2004

    $3.25

  • Used

    Paperback 2004

    $3.25

  • Used

    Hardcover 2004

    $5.82

  • New

    Paperback 2010

    $11.62
Synopsis

It's the spring of 1968, the sun shines down on an America on the brink of civil war. Martin Luther King preaches in vain for non-violent protest and the ghettos of Washington DC seethe with anger. In the middle of this powder-keg is thrust a young black cop, barely out of school himself. Derek Strange believes passionately that he can make a difference, but his friends and family think he's a traitor and a patsy of the white establishment. On April 4th, 1968, Dr King is assassinated on the balcony of his motel in Memphis, Tennessee. And black America rises as one to condemn the slaying of their hero. For one week, it seems that the whole country will fall. And Derek, his brother, his father, his mother and his whole community find themselves at the heart of a battle for the heart and soul of the new world.

$3.25

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2 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 384
 Edition: 1st
 Publisher: Orion
Published: 25 Mar 2004
ISBN 10: 0752856308
ISBN 13: 9780752856308
Book Overview: George Pelecanos is widely regarded as one of the most talented crime novelists working in the world today. In HARD REVOLUTION, he takes his hero, Derek Strange, back to one of the events that shaped America - the assassination of Martin Luther King. We see the creation of the world described in his earlier novels. George's sales mount with every book - once you read one Pelecanos you go and read them all. Once again, the genius is in the characters that George creates, you see their world from their point of view, a world in which there are no simple answers.

Media Reviews
'[Hard Revolution] is Dickensian in structure... Pelecanos's writing is direct and effective, with much period detail about cars and music, and he has a wonderful way with vernacular. The scenes of mob violence are minutely documented and the waste is appalling but, just as in Dickens, love finally conquers all.' -- Toby Clements DAILY TELEGRAPH 'An Ellroy-esque powderkeg waiting for a spark to set it off, Hard Revolution slowboils its dense storyline , interweaving mulitiple characters heading for a violent showdown, until you either care deeply for or loathe them, ensuring that its denouement leaves you shattered. A fascinating historical saga and crime potboiler combined, Pelecanos' 12th novel is a brutal tour de force.' JACK magazine 'In Hard Revolution George Pelecanos breaks new ground with a long, expansive novel which sets the strories of Derek Strange and his family against the momentous events surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King in the summer of 1968.' WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY 'It's [Pelecanos'] ability, better than any writer up to and including Nick Hornby, to bring his characters to life through their obsessions, desires and needs, that makes Pelecanos's writing jump off the page. He writes about real people in real situations, and the hard choices they must make every day. And, as in Hard Revolution, when he does it well, it's a tender and beautiful thing.' WORD Magazine 'Pelecanos writes clean, tight, cogent prose with a heartfelt urgency.' THE SCOTSMAN 'Has George Pelecanos's hour finally arrived? For years, aficionados of tough, richly characterised thrillers have put Pelecanos securely in the No 1 slot. It's not difficult to see why: many writers excel at the well-turned acerbic thriller but few are able to combine tough dialogue and bloodletting with an ambitious picture of a society - and that's what Pelecanos achieves, time and time again.' -- Barry Forshaw SUNDAY EXPRESS 'This is a wonderful powerful novel that deserves to win an oscar.' TIME OUT 'Hard Revolution is a wonderfully atmospheric, highly intelligent novel; and no one today - not even Elmore Leonard - writes better dialogue.' -- Marcel Berlins THE TIMES '...a sophisticated, unflinching novel. 4 stars *' -- Nick Hasted UNCUT magazine 'An epic novel about one man's journey into the fires of revolution, this is a book that also reeks of soul music and ethnic diversity as Pelecanos lovingly creates the lost world in which he grew up. Beneath the paving stones and the mayhem and crime lies a strange poetry that is unique to Pelecanos. Impressive.' -- Maxim Jabubowski THE GUARDIAN 'Hard Revolution is a superior thriller, raising issues that are still relevant in American society. It is also a fast-paced read that holds the interest right to the final page.' IRISH TIMES
Author Bio
George Pelecanos was born in Washington, DC in 1957. He worked as a line cook, dishwasher, bartender, shoe salesman, electronics salesman, construction worker, and retail general manager before publishing his first novel in 1992. He is the author of nine crime/noir novels set in and around Washington, DC. THE BIG BLOWDOWN was the recipient of the International Crime Novel of the Year award in both Germany and Japan; KING SUCKERMAN was shortlisted for the Golden Dagger award in the UK. His short fiction has appeared in ESQUIRE and the collections Unusual Suspects and Best American Mystery Stories of 1997. He is an award-winning journalist and pop-culture essayist who has written for THE WASHINGTON POST. Pelecanos served as producer on several feature films. As a screenwriter, he has written an adaptation of KING SUCKERMAN, and was co-writer on the recently completed feature PAID IN FULL. Most recently, he has written a script based on a team in the American Basketball Association for HBO Films.