The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner

The Flamethrowers

by Rachel Kushner

FROM THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE MARS ROOM

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FOLIO PRIZE 2014

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

Reno mounts her motorcycle and sets a collision course for New York.

In 1977 the city is alive with art, sensuality and danger. She falls in with a bohemian clique colonising downtown and the lines between reality and performance begin to bleed.

A passionate affair with the scion of an Italian tyre empire carries Reno to Milan, where she is swept along by the radical left and drawn into a spiral of violence and betrayal.

The Flamethrowers is an audacious novel that explores the perplexing allure of femininity, fakery and fear. In Reno we encounter a heroine like no other.

Best Books of the Year:
* Guardian * New York Times * The Times * Observer * Financial Times * New Yorker * Telegraph * Slate * Oprah * Vogue * Time * Scotsman * Evening Standard *

Shortlisted for the National Book Awards 2013

Reviewed by viking2917 on

3 of 5 stars

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Flamethrowers was all the literary rage awhile back. I couldn't get excited enough about it to buy it but I signed up for Scribd and found I could read it as part of my subscription.

Reno is a very young female artist with a thing for motorcycles. Sandro is a mid-40s heir to a motorcycle industry fortune, but he hates being part of it. They get together in 1970s New York City.

From the title and the press and the blurb about radicals, I was expecting either a novelization of something Patti Hearst-like, or an "older man teaches younger woman the ropes" kind of thing. It didn't really seem to be either. Reno was an appealing but confused character - I wanted to just say "would you stop being such a dope!".

While the writing was very high quality and I enjoyed the book, I confess I don't really see what the frenzy was about or why this was a National Book Award Finalist, I just didn't think it that amazing. I found it good but uneven. Your Mileage May Vary.

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  • Started reading
  • 17 January, 2016: Finished reading
  • 17 January, 2016: Reviewed