{"product_id":"citizen-vince-a-novel-isbn-9780060394417","title":"Citizen Vince: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“You just have to read it . . . . Utterly inventive. . . excruciatingly breathless.\" \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaureen Corrigan, \u003cem\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the #1 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eBeautiful Ruins: \u003c\/em\u003ea riveting\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003estory of witness protection, petty thievery, local politics, and murder—set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1980 presidential election\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’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. \u003cem\u003eCitizen Vince\u003c\/em\u003e is his funniest and grittiest book yet.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eOne day you know more dead people that live ones...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJess Walter is a writer with a rare talent for finding humanity and emotional truths in lives lived on both sides of the law. With his third novel, \u003cem\u003eCitizen Vince,\u003c\/em\u003e Walter has crafted a story as inventive as it is suspenseful -- an irresistible tale about the price of freedom and the mystery of salvation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's the fall of 1980, eight days before a presidential election that pits the downtrodden Jimmy Carter against the suspiciously sunny Ronald Reagan (\"Are you better off than you were four years ago?\"). In a quiet house in Spokane, Washington, Vince Camden wakes up at 1:59 a.m., pockets his weekly stash of stolen credit cards, and drops in on an all-night poker game with his low-life friends on his way to his witness-protection job dusting crullers at Donut Make You Hungry. This is the sum of Vince's new life: donuts, forged credit cards, marijuana smuggled in jars of volcanic ash, and a neurotic hooker girlfriend who dreams of being a real estate agent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut when a familiar face shows up in town, Vince realizes that no matter how far you think you've run from your past . . . it's always close behind you. Over the course of the next unforgettable week, on the run from Spokane to New York's Lower East Side, Vince Camden will negotiate a maze of obsessive cops, eager politicians, and emerging mobsters, only to find that redemption might just exist in -- of all places -- a voting booth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDarkly funny and surprisingly hopeful, \u003cem\u003eCitizen Vince\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of a charming crook chasing the biggest score of his life: a second chance. | \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaureen Corrigan, Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJanet Maslin, New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Fresh and different—a gritty story of betrayal, and an extended riff on life, death, and politics. Walter is a literary talent writ large.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Rich in robust characters ad wry dialogue, with agile prose, a big heart and a finely tuned plot.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A splendidly entertaining, thoughtful book. . . . Jess Walter continues to impress.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Admirably unpredictable ... a story full of wonderful small surprises. Dispassionate and compassionate by turns, and always engrossing. Walter’s best by far.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eCitizen Vince\u003c\/em\u003e 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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKen Bruen, author of The Magdalene Martyrs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“(An) immensely entertaining crime thriller and wry social commentary.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Oregonian (Portland)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpokesman Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book as compulsively, indeed greedily, as I read \u003cem\u003eCitizen Vince\u003c\/em\u003e. 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.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Empire Falls\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What makes Walter’s third novel so enjoyable is Vince, a flawed but sympathetic character trying to find redemption.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890294321381,"sku":"NP9780060394417","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780060394417.jpg?v=1730232971","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/citizen-vince-a-novel-isbn-9780060394417","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}