By: George Harrar Publisher: e-reads.com Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: e-reads.com Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 240 Publication Date: December 01, 1999
Product Description: When a car crash takes a life, to whom does the tragedy really happenâ€"the wife who dies? The husband who was driving? Or the six-year-old son sitting in the backseat? Author George Harrar explores this provocative question in his debut novel, set in the arts colony of New Hope, Pennsylvania, on the Delware River. The book begins 10 years after the accident when Jake Paine, now 16, comes home after almost a year as a runaway. His return sparks painful memories in his father, a man verging on a nervous breakdown. Jakeâ€(tm)s appearance also ignited old fears among townspeople about a boy who dances on the edge of craziness.
This is Something to Shout About! You want a book to really take you somewhere? And move you so much that it changes you? Do you want to read a book that makes you want to shout this from a few rooftops because this can change the world?
That's what First Tiger did to me.
How many heads have we seen shaking; how many hands wrung; how many political platforms and how many new social agenda have all been predicated on the universal question asked throughout the ages--"Why do people do bad things?"
George Harrar's journey to the center not only mines a gem so rare its value is immeasurable, it--this exploration--does what Freud is still trying to do: Harrar's characters, among them teen-ager Jake; his lost father; Jake's friend, Frankie, make the understanding of human nature touchable, seeable, knowable; and ultimately, loveable, so that we embrace it in all of its polished--and raw--facets.
This novel is brash, crash, warm, loving, hateful, stripped, sentimental, scary, comforting; you don't read it--you experience it the way you do a dear friend who confides in you their story of their struggles and triumphs--you can't relate to everything firsthand, but surely, as their pathos unfold, you come to a deeper understanding of them and what it might feel like to be them.
Jake and his brethren in First Tiger should be a case study that the student of social work studies. In fact, First Tiger should be required reading for students of all disciplines from the teacher, the judge, doctor, pollice officer, CEO, line worker to the parent. Instead of head-wagging and hand-wringing we might all then bask in this archeological find for the ages, whether from our rooftops or desktops.
Gritty, moving, "real" A beautifully written, haunting story of a teenager on the edge. The author pulls no punches, letting 16-year-old Jake tell the story of his father, his mother and the tragedies that have marked his life with unflinching honesty.
Add George Harrar to your list of important writers After enjoying several short stories by this author I was eager to read his debut novel, and was not disappointed. From the opening pages to the disturbing, though wholly satisfying conclusion, I remained riveted. Harrar's depiction, his keen insight into a world a bit off-kilter, is splendidly done. I hope First Tiger receives the recognition it deserves.
First Tiger This book goes down as easily and memorably as a Raymond Carver story. My wife and I both couldn't put it down. You're drawn into the lives of characters who can barely seem to hold it together. Upon first meeting them, you might be tempted to dismiss the father as a dreamy incompetent, his wife as a bitter and heartless woman, the son and protagonist Jake as a ne'er-do-well punk. But quickly you find your sympathy growing for all of them. "Dad" is a good-hearted would-be philosopher with intellectual gems to share. It becomes clear that his wife, Jake's stepmother, has sound reasons for her behavior and, beneath a harsh exterior, a sad heart of her own. Jake, despite specializing in reprehensible and even atrocious behavior, is highly appealing. How the author could have such a finely polished voice in his first novel is beyond me. Read it!
Characters live and breathe This is a stunner of a book. It happens to be a first novel, but doesn't read like one. The author treats his characters with generosity and understanding, revealing the the positive qualities that coexist with their obvious flaws and frailties. There's a chronically depressed father, who can't figure out how to make peace with life, but manages to impart wisdom and resilience to his children. There's a kid sister who could hold her own with Harper Lee's Scout. There's an uncle whose distant existence is reflected through the influence he has managed to have on a nephew he has never met.
The portrait of the teenage central character is particularly strong, capturing the weird mix of fatalism and perceived invincibility that is the adolescent mindset, as well as the good nature that can lurk beneath a stubbornly opaque surface and seemingly hell bent behavior.
There is a lot of darkness and sadness in these pages. Ultimately, however, the book leaves you feeling better about human nature in all its manifestations. These characters are going to stick in my head for a long time, and I'll be glad of their company.
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