Right of Thirst
By Frank Huyler
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780061687549, 384pp.)
Publication Date: May 2009
Categories: General
 |     |
Selected by Indie Booksellers for the June 2009 Indie NotablesShattered by his wife's death, and by his own role in it, successful cardiologist Charles Anderson volunteers to assist with earthquake relief in an impoverished Islamic country in a constant state of conflict with its neighbor. But when the refugees he's come to help do not appear and artillery begins to fall in the distance along the border, the story takes an unexpected turn.
This haunting, resonant tour de force about one man's desire to live a moral life offers a moving exploration of the tensions between poverty and wealth, the ethics of intervention, the deep cultural differences that divide the world, and the essential human similarities that unite it.
An emergency physician in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Frank Huyler is the author of the essay collection The Blood of Strangers as well as the novel The Laws of Invisible Things. He grew up in Iran, Brazil, and Japan.
“One of the finest novels I’ve read in years. . . . Ultimately, this book is a timely, powerful exploration into the uses and limits of benevolence . . . an exploration into the limits of what’sgood and decent in the American character.”
-Ben Fountain, author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara
“Right of Thirst is a book to treasure. It is a riveting tale of our time, at once haunting and inspiring, provocative and insightful. It will stay with me for a long time.”
-Tom Brokaw
“It’s brilliant, start to finish. The voice is an achievement, and the world of emotion he delivers. It’s solid-so solid it reminds me of a mature Hemingway. . . . It’s clear and deep and wise.”
-Stewart O'Nan, author of Songs for the Missing, on RIGHT OF THIRST
“Brilliant, start to finish. . . . It’s clear and deep and wise, and very few contemporary novels can make that claim.”
-Stewart O'Nan, author of Songs for the Missing
“Lyrical, moving, gripping. . . . A dark, compelling story about moral ambition and its pitfalls-a necessary book for this moment in America’s imperial history.”
-Andrew Solomon, author of the National Book Award-winning The Noonday Demon
“One of the finest novels I’ve read in years. . . . A timely, powerful exploration into the uses and limits of benevolence . . . the limits of what’s good and decent in the American character.”
-Ben Fountain, author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara
“A book to treasure. It is a riveting tale of our time, at once haunting and inspiring, provocative and insightful. It will stay with me for a long time.”
-Tom Brokaw
“Resonant. . . . vivid and compassionate. . . . A timely, disquieting reflection on mortality, war and the startling dichotomy between the affluent West and the impoverished Third World.”
-Kirkus Reviews
“He writes in a surgical fashion—with precision and care, making no sudden metaphorical movements. Huyler’s protagonist resists easy answers or self-congratulatory axioms in examining the ethics of humanitarian intervention
-The New Yorker
“Dr. Huyler’s writing is quiet, precise, spellbinding from beginning to end. . . . Easily holds with the best contemporary fiction.”
-Abigail Zuger, New York Times
This book is on these lists:
Xtine0218@yahoo.com's Wish List by xtine0218@yahoo.comMary ellen's Wish List by mary ellen
Dan's Wish List by dan
Mamasbooks's Wish List by mamasbooks
Robbie's Wish List by robbie
Summer 2010 by stillsearching
Bibliosue's Wish List by bibliosue
Ptsgrad2001's Wish List by ptsgrad2001
Kari's Wish List by kari
Caroreas's Wish List by caroreas
All lists >>
 |
1Q84 Haruki Murakami Knopf |
 |
The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |
 |
The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes Knopf |
 |
Death Comes to Pemberley PD James Knopf |
