The Good Hand

Name: The Good Hand
Brand: Arotahi Agency
SKU: 9780008399481
Price: 24.99 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

A Memoir of Work, Brotherhood and Transformation in an American Boomtown

By Michael Patrick F. Smith

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Summary

The Good Hand by Michael Patrick F. Smith is an absorbing memoir detailing the author’s journey into the grueling world of North Dakota's oil fields. With a keen sense of observation, Smith explores the harsh realities of both manual labour and the human spirit. This vivid tale captures the challenges and camaraderie among workers in a rapidly changing American landscape.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by tales of adventure and self-discovery. It captures the raw and immersive experience of working in the challenging North Dakota oil fields, blending humour and poignant reflections, offering a riveting glimpse into a unique American landscape.

The Good Hand

A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2021

‘Thrillingly and wrenchingly funny … like Educated and Hillbilly Elegy’
DAVID LIPSKY

Description

A Times and Sunday Times Best Book of 2021

‘Thrillingly and wrenchingly funny … like Educated and Hillbilly Elegy’
David Lipsky

‘After reading The Good Hand you may reassess whether you have ever truly done a hard day’s work in your life … This lyrical and engrossing memoir is an extraordinary tale … Undeniably powerful’
Sunday Times

The must-read memoir of 2021.

Michael Patrick Smith grew up in a ramshackle farmhouse where his father beat the walls and threw dinner plates. As a restless young man left unmoored by the crashing economy, Smith cut a path to North Dakota to rent a mattress on a flophouse floor. Sleeping boot to beard with the other rough-edged men looking to earn a cent drilling for oil, Smith wanted the work to burn him clean – of his violent upbringing, his demons, his disjointed, doomed relationships. He did not expect, among these quick-fisted, foul-mouthed hands, to find a community.

The Good Hand is a memoir of danger and exhaustion, of suffering, loneliness and grit, of masculinity and of learning how to reconcile yourself to yourself.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Michael Patrick F. Smith's The Good Hand receives praise for its vivid and humorous narrative that blends memoir, reportage, and self-discovery. The book is likened to Hillbilly Elegy and Educated due to its powerful depiction of hardship, yet it distinguishes itself with more wit. Critics highlight Smith's lyrical storytelling about the chaotic backdrop of North Dakota's oil boom, offering a tender exploration of searching for self-identity and redemption amidst tough labour.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780008399481

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 March 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: William Collins

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 320g

Pages: 464

Collections

Biography & Memoir Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture Michael Patrick F. Smith Non-Fiction

About the Author

Michael Patrick Flanagan Smith is a writer and actor based in Brooklyn. His play about the iconoclast folksinger, Woody Guthrie Dreams, premiered at Theater for the New City in September of 2011. The Good Hand is his first book.