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The Motel Life

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin follows the poignant journey of two down-and-out brothers, Frank and Jerry Lee, as they navigate the challenges of life on the fringes of society. When a tragic accident sets them on the run from their past, they rely on each other and their shared dreams to cope with life's harsh realities. Their story is a touching exploration of brotherly bonds, resilience, and the quest for a better future.
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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 drawn to stories that explore deep emotional bonds between siblings set against a backdrop of hardship. Filled with vivid characters and poignant moments, this narrative captures the resilience of the human spirit in the face of life's unexpected turns.

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The hugely moving novel from Willy Vlautin, reissued with a new cover.

The hugely moving novel from Willy Vlautin, reissued with a new cover direction.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Opening like an early Tom Waits barstool-tale, The Motel Life tells the story of two brothers, Frank and Jerry Lee. Taking to the road in an attempt to escape the hit and run accident caused by Jerry Lee, the novel goes back to tell the story of their unhappy lives.

With intense feeling and compassion, Vlautin explores the frustrations and failed dreams of the two brothersβ€”one a natural storyteller, the other an artistβ€”and renders perfectly the sense of entrapment they feel. Will the kid's death shock them out of their torpor or send them ever deeper into trouble? Can Annie James, a girl from their past, offer them any sort of redemption, however slim?

Interspersed with drawings that come to form an integral part of the narrative, The Motel Life is a poetic, moving, beautifully naive and tragic fictional debut. Alongside such seminal works as Annie Proulx's Postcards, Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, and Denis Johnson's Jesus's Son, it should come to be seen as a classic of downbeat American prose.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571315598

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 January 2016

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 35.0mm

Width: 125.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 190g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Willy Vlautin is the singer and main songwriter of the highly acclaimed Americana band Richmond Fontaine, whose albums include, POST TO WIRE (2004) and, most recently, THE FITZGERALD (2005)

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