2021 National Book Award for Fiction (longlist)
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
'A tense, yet tender portrait of a father and son trying to escape life on the margin. Determination and despair collide in this unforgettable debut, with an ending that broke my heart' Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain
Evicted from their trailer on New Year's Eve, Henry and his son, Junior, have been reduced to living out of a pick-up truck. Six months later, things are even more desperate. Henry, barely a year out of prison for selling drugs, is down to his last pocketful of cash, and little remains between him and the street. But hope is on the horizon: today is Junior's birthday, and Henry has a job interview tomorrow.
To celebrate, Henry treats Junior to dinner at McDonald's, followed by a night in a real bed at a discount hotel. For a moment, as Junior watches TV and Henry practises for his interview in the bathtub, all seems well. But after Henry has a disastrous altercation in the parking lot and Junior succumbs to a fever, father and son are sent into the night, struggling to hold things together.
Each chapter of this deeply emotional and compassionate novel begins with amount of money in Henry's pocket, showing how literally father and son's fortunes can turn on a dime. Can they make it through tomorrow?
What people are saying about Abundance:
'Extremely heartbreaking, I constantly had a pit in my stomach... My heart hurt so much...I loved it! The emotions and feelings in this story were just written so beautifully.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I guarantee your heart will not leave your throat for one second reading this... Will haunt you long after you set the book down.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Broke my heart but I couldn't stop reading.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Full of beauty, honesty and unexpected grace.' Gary Shteyngart
'A quest, a page-turner, and above all a love story, Abundance lays bare one father's brutal, tender hustle to care for his son in a winner-takes-all world.' Mia Alvar
'Gut-wrenching... Truly heartbreaking... Told with compassion and vivid detail... Feels tense right to the very end... Brilliant.' Goodreads Reviewer
'Will rip your heart out.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Literary Fiction
'A tense, yet tender portrait of a father and son trying to escape life on the margin. Determination and despair collide in this unforgettable debut, with an ending that broke my heart' Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain
Evicted from their trailer on New Year's Eve, Henry and his son, Junior, have been reduced to living out of a pick-up truck. Six months later, things are even more desperate. Henry, barely a year out of prison for selling drugs, is down to his last pocketful of cash, and little remains between him and the street. But hope is on the horizon: today is Junior's birthday, and Henry has a job interview tomorrow.
To celebrate, Henry treats Junior to dinner at McDonald's, followed by a night in a real bed at a discount hotel. For a moment, as Junior watches TV and Henry practises for his interview in the bathtub, all seems well. But after Henry has a disastrous altercation in the parking lot and Junior succumbs to a fever, father and son are sent into the night, struggling to hold things together.
Each chapter of this deeply emotional and compassionate novel begins with amount of money in Henry's pocket, showing how literally father and son's fortunes can turn on a dime. Can they make it through tomorrow?
What people are saying about Abundance:
'Extremely heartbreaking, I constantly had a pit in my stomach... My heart hurt so much...I loved it! The emotions and feelings in this story were just written so beautifully.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I guarantee your heart will not leave your throat for one second reading this... Will haunt you long after you set the book down.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Broke my heart but I couldn't stop reading.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Full of beauty, honesty and unexpected grace.' Gary Shteyngart
'A quest, a page-turner, and above all a love story, Abundance lays bare one father's brutal, tender hustle to care for his son in a winner-takes-all world.' Mia Alvar
'Gut-wrenching... Truly heartbreaking... Told with compassion and vivid detail... Feels tense right to the very end... Brilliant.' Goodreads Reviewer
'Will rip your heart out.' Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A quest, a page-turner, and above all a love story, Abundance lays bare one father's brutal, tender hustle to care for his son in a winner-take-all world." - Mia Alvar
"Jakob Guanzon looks unflinchingly at our society's underbelly, the intolerable despair that we tolerate, in this powerful debut: a wrenching book our times demand." - Gina Apostol
"Tender, anxious, angry, and beautiful--Jakob Guanzon has given us The Road for the ongoing apocalypse of American capitalism." - Mark Doten
"An unforgettable accounting of family, fever, and the fortunes of our strip mall society." - Samantha Hunt
"A furious and evocative condemnation of the foundation of our society. . . . This heartrending story of an unhoused father's struggle to provide for his son one dollar, even one penny at a time, in the margins of an American city, will forever change the way readers see our country." - Maxim Loskutoff
"A searing and truthful portrait of American life full of beauty, honesty and unexpected grace." - Gary Shteyngart
"To read Abundance is to understand America in ways both shockingly new and startlingly familiar, and contemporary American fiction is lucky to add this book to its shelves." - Lysley Tenorio
"Jakob Guanzon has written the everlasting story of exile and inequity in all its fiery desperation, daily heartbreak, and extraordinary tenderness." - Michael Zapata
"Jakob Guanzon looks unflinchingly at our society's underbelly, the intolerable despair that we tolerate, in this powerful debut: a wrenching book our times demand." - Gina Apostol
"Tender, anxious, angry, and beautiful--Jakob Guanzon has given us The Road for the ongoing apocalypse of American capitalism." - Mark Doten
"An unforgettable accounting of family, fever, and the fortunes of our strip mall society." - Samantha Hunt
"A furious and evocative condemnation of the foundation of our society. . . . This heartrending story of an unhoused father's struggle to provide for his son one dollar, even one penny at a time, in the margins of an American city, will forever change the way readers see our country." - Maxim Loskutoff
"A searing and truthful portrait of American life full of beauty, honesty and unexpected grace." - Gary Shteyngart
"To read Abundance is to understand America in ways both shockingly new and startlingly familiar, and contemporary American fiction is lucky to add this book to its shelves." - Lysley Tenorio
"Jakob Guanzon has written the everlasting story of exile and inequity in all its fiery desperation, daily heartbreak, and extraordinary tenderness." - Michael Zapata
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