The Flamethrowers
* Selected as ONE of the BEST BOOKS of the 21st CENTURY by The New York Times * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * New York magazine's #1 Book of the Year * Best Book of the Year by: The Wall Street Journal; Vogue; O, The Oprah Magazine; Los Angeles Times; The San Francisco Chronicle; The New Yorker; Time; Flavorwire; Salon; Slate; The Daily Beast "Superb...Scintillatingly alive...A pure explosion of now."--The New Yorker Reno, so-called because of the place of her birth, comes to New York intent on turning her fascination with motorcycles and speed into art. Her arrival coincides with an explosion of activity--artists colonize a deserted and industrial SoHo, stage actions in the East Village, blur the line between life and art. Reno is submitted to a sentimental education of sorts--by dreamers, poseurs, and raconteurs in New York and by radicals in Italy, where she goes with her lover to meet his estranged and formidable family. Ardent, vulnerable, and bold, Reno is a fiercely memorable observer, superbly realized by Rachel Kushner.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
An ambitious novel that attempted to connect multiple characters, points of view and themes across decades and continents.
Primarily told from the POV of "Reno", a young would-be artist recently arrived in New York City in the 1970s, and, flashing back, of Valera, the father of Reno's boyfriend Sandro and the patriarch of an Italian industrial conglomerate.
Reno is a bit of a cypher (purposefully, I think - so that the chauvinist men in her life can project on her) and Valera is entirely unsympathetic. I don't necessarily need my protagonists to be relatable or lovable, but I found myself uninvested in the story and struggling to keep reading.
Some scintillating prose and glimpses into interesting (and less interesting) subcultures, including land speed racing, 70s NYC art scene, NYC counterculture, and Italian anti-capitalist autonomous movements.
But by trying to do so much, I ultimately found the book to not do very much at all for me.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.