The Book of Ralph: A Fiction - Hardcover

McNally, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743255550 ISBN 13: 9780743255554

Publisher: Free Pr, 2004

Synopsis

Promising eighth-grade student Hank forges an unlikely friendship with troublemaker Ralph, who with a pair of older cousins encourages Hank to engage in unscrupulous activities in their 1978 southwest Chicago neighborhood that set the groundwork for more serious behaviors in their adult lives. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

"Sometimes hazy, occasionally wistful, often picaresque chapters are delivered with a satirist's perfect understated pitch and announce John McNally -- also the author of Trouble-makers, a collection of stories -- as a gifted meta-memoirist." -- "The Washington Post" ""The Book of Ralph" is like a collection of strange and wonderful objects set out on the lawn, a carnival of vivid memories. It should earn John McNally the audience that his talent and wit deserve." -- "Chicago Tribune"

About the Author

John McNally is the author of two novels, The Book of Ralph and America's Report Card, and a short story collection, Troublemakers . His next book, Ghosts of Chicago, a collection of short stories, will be published this fall. A native of Chicago, he lives with his wife, Amy, in North Carolina, where he is associate professor of English at Wake Forest University. The first word he ever spoke was "Batman" who has remained, in his darker incarnations, his favorite superhero. John's first creative work, a play written in the fourth grade, featured an overweight superhero who gets stuck inside a phone booth while changing into his costume. He is happy to return to the genre, albeit thirty-four years later.

Edition details

• Publisher: Free Pr
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743255550
• ISBN 13: 9780743255554
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304