Cool for America: Stories

By Andrew Martin and Andrew Martin

Book Overview

Expanding on the world introduced in his "marvelous . . . classic" (Molly Young, The New York Times Book Review) and "really dirty" (Ann Patchett, PBS NewsHour) debut novel, Early Work, Andrew Martin's Cool for America is a darkly hilarious collection of overlapping stories that explores the perilous zone between ambition and achievement. Bookended by the misadventures of Leslie, an aspiring writer who moves from New York to Missoula, Montana, hoping to shake off a lingering depression, it follows young men and women pushing hard against-and often crashing into-their limits as not only would-be Tolstoys but also functional, feeling human beings. As Martin's characters age out of punk shows and all-night benders and into book clubs and elaborate weddings, they find that neither family life nor community ties can quite shore up the dam against despair. Has redemption through art ever been more than a pipe dream? Could writing the perfect sentence ever make such broken lives turn out right? Or is it time to sell the books and head for the barricades? Whatever the case, Andrew Martin's winsome malcontents can be counted on to make agonized indecision cool again for the twenty-first century. Book jacket.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250798647
• ISBN13: 9781250798640
• Release Date: July 2021
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"