{"product_id":"9780062836878","title":"Only Killers and Thieves : A Novel","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eOnly Killers and Thieves\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Paul Howarth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Powerful. . . . Paul Howarth brings early Australia to life, bloody warts and all, in an epic tale of murder, revenge, and colonial oppression, with very little room for redemption. The story and his words will stay with you, long after you have finished the book.” — \u003cem\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwo brothers are exposed to the brutal realities of life and the seductive cruelty of power in this riveting debut novel—a story of savagery and race, injustice and honor, set in the untamed frontier of 1880s Australia—reminiscent of Philipp Meyer’s \u003cem\u003eThe Son\u003c\/em\u003e and the novels of Cormac McCarthy.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is 1885, and a crippling drought threatens to ruin the McBride family. Their land is parched, their cattle starving. When the rain finally comes, it is a miracle that renews their hope for survival. But returning home from an afternoon swimming at a remote waterhole filled by the downpour, fourteen-year-old Tommy and sixteen-year-old Billy meet with a shocking tragedy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThirsting for vengeance against the man they believe has wronged them—their former Aboriginal stockman—the distraught brothers turn to the ruthless and cunning John Sullivan, the wealthiest landowner in the region and their father’s former employer. Sullivan gathers a posse led by the dangerous and fascinating Inspector Edmund Noone and his Queensland Native Police, an infamous arm of British colonial power charged with the \"dispersal\" of indigenous Australians to \"protect\" white settler rights. As they ride across the barren outback in pursuit, their harsh and horrifying journey will have a devastating impact on Tommy, tormenting him for the rest of his life—and will hold enduring consequences for a young country struggling to come into its own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn epic tale of revenge and survival, \u003cem\u003eOnly Killers and Thieves\u003c\/em\u003e is a gripping and utterly transporting debut, bringing to vivid life a colonial Australia that bears a striking resemblance to the American Wild West in its formative years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cem\u003eOnly Killers and Thieves\u003c\/em\u003e is a powerful debut. Paul Howarth brings early Australia to life, bloody warts and all, in an epic tale of murder, revenge, and colonial oppression, with very little room for redemption. The story and his words will stay with you, long after you have finished the book.”\u003cbr\u003e“Prose like that arrives direct from Cormac McCarthy’s dusty Southwest…Howarth’s spotlights how arbitrary frontier justice can be. But he also asks: How much less arbitrary is a purportedly civilized society?”\u003cbr\u003e“An outstanding debut…a powerful novel of crimes in a bleak landscape.”\u003cbr\u003e“They’re hard to find, books that grab you by the throat and won’t let go — addictive novels that make your heart race. \u003cem\u003eOnly Killers and Thieves\u003c\/em\u003e tops that category…There’s much to relish in this page turner, descriptive writing, a plot that wrings you out, and characters you grow to hate, evil and racism personified…This literary, hard-hitter brings to life a time of mistrust and violence in Australia when whites tried to wipe out indigenous Australians. \u003cem\u003eOnly Killers and Thieves\u003c\/em\u003e is brilliant but brutal.”\u003cbr\u003e“Howarth’s stunning debut has shades of Cormac McCarthy and Patrick deWitt...a book that grips from the outset and entertains even as it educates us about an appalling part of Australia’s history. Epic in scope, \u003cem\u003eOnly Killers and Thieves\u003c\/em\u003e is a study in morality in a land where white vigilantism has never seemed more depraved.”\u003cbr\u003e“Hugely impressive…reminiscent of Peter Carey.”\u003cbr\u003e“A must-read for anyone who craves pictorially descriptive writing, story-telling with palpable tension and characters so finely drawn they leap off the pages…Howarth has captured the trappings of America’s Wild West, only here the white vigilantes’ victims are Australia’s aboriginal natives. Otherwise the parallels are striking, from ethnic hatred, violent attacks and torture to the bloodthirstiness of ruthless hunters as they move through an unrelenting, sun-parched landscape bent on extermination. Against this stark and gory backdrop Howarth crafts nuanced, insightful alterations in the boys’ characters…No matter how driven you are (and you will be), resist the temptation to read \u003cem\u003eOnly Killers and Thieves\u003c\/em\u003e straight through. Howarth’s writing deserves thoughtful savoring.”\u003cbr\u003e“Howarth’s impressive debut is a Wild West saga transported to 19th-century Queensland, Australian. The story deals unflinchingly with the brutality of Australian rule…but the heart of the story is the complicated relationship between the brothers...While this book has a historical point to make, it also works as a suspenseful mystery and a resonant bildungsroman.”\u003cbr\u003e“Powerful debut…the novel feels like a modern Western along the lines of Cormac McCarthy’s \u003cem\u003eAll the Pretty Horses.\u003c\/em\u003e Howarth’s narrative is almost cinematic…U.S. readers will make the connection with our country’s oppression of Native Americans and gain an understanding of the fundamental racism of both former British colonies…Howarth is a novelist to watch.”\u003cbr\u003e“A gripping novel about conflict in the Australian outback at the turn of the century; beautifully done.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780062836878\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":41089123614926,"sku":"9780062836878","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/9780062836878.jpg?v=1652136285","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780062836878","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}