American Family

Front Cover
iUniverse, Dec 20, 2004 - Fiction - 356 pages
AMERICAN FAMILY is Tom Gannon's confession-a story of secrets and sins, set in 1950's America. Haunted by memories of his heroic father, Joe; his complicated grandfather, Hank; his stoic mother, Mary; and his boldly courageous sister, Liz, he weaves an engrossing tale-a classic narrative of love, courage, betrayal, and redemption-which he calls the story of a family, told by its "least worthy member".

American Family invokes a time when New York real estate development was controlled by arbitrary power-politics and prejudice, and when Congressional investigations into Communist influence in American institutions cast shadows of fear and suspicion over day-to-day life.

Robert Crooke summons a rich cast of characters onto this stage, and though they voice a variety of political convictions, this novelist is suspicious of extremes in ideology. It's more the human heart that interests him. And through the observant eyes of his flawed narrator, reminiscent of Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn, he takes an unforgettable journey into the moral truth of America's past-and present. It is an extraordinary reading experience in fiction.

 

Selected pages

Contents

CHAPTER 1
1
CHAPTER 2
15
CHAPTER 3
25
CHAPTER 4
35
CHAPTER 5
52
CHAPTER 6
63
CHAPTER 7
72
CHAPTER 8
85
CHAPTER 17
181
CHAPTER 18
195
CHAPTER 19
207
CHAPTER 20
221
CHAPTER 21
232
CHAPTER 22
243
CHAPTER 23
256
CHAPTER 24
271

CHAPTER 9
98
CHAPTER 10
110
CHAPTER 11
125
CHAPTER 12
134
CHAPTER 13
142
CHAPTER 14
151
CHAPTER 15
159
CHAPTER 16
171
CHAPTER 25
289
CHAPTER 26
295
CHAPTER 27
312
Acknowledgements
341
Authors Note
343
About the Author
345
Back Cover
347
Copyright

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About the author (2004)

Robert Crooke is a journalist and public relations executive and is the author of historical books, poetry and radio dramas. He began his career as a sports reporter and columnist for the Long Island Press, and spent 13 years as U.S. press spokesman for Reuters. AMERICAN FAMILY is his first novel.

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