The Murder of the Frogs, and Other Stories

CARPENTER, Don

Harcourt,brace & World

Don Carpenterâs Hard Rain Falling is a tough-as-nails account of being down and out, but never down for goodâa Dostoyevskian tale of crime, punishment, and the pursuit of an ever-elusive redemption. The novel follows the adventures of Jack Levitt, an orphaned teenager living off his wits in the fleabag hotels and seedy pool halls of Portland, Oregon. Jack befriends Billy Lancing, a young black runaway and pool hustler extraordinaire. A heist gone wrong gets Jack sent to reform school, from which he emerges embittered by abuse and solitary conï¬nement. In the meantime Billy has joined the middle classâmarried, fathered a son, acquired a business and a mistress. But neither Jack nor Billy can escape their troubled pasts, and they will meet again in San Quentin before their strange double drama comes to a violent and revelatory end.

Hard Rain Falling

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Ballantine Books

<div>"No pretty little thoughts, no fake faith-restoratives -- just hard solid craftsmanship and style." --&nbsp;The New York Times (An Outstanding Book of the Year) From the author of Hard Rain Falling and Blade of Light come these two novellas and eight shorter pieces that explore racial conflict and the agonies of loneliness and heartbreak: "The Crossroader," in which a Black drifter outfoxes an all-white crew of small-town hustlers; "Blue Eyes," the story of an aging half-Indian prostitute and her increasingly respectable white lover; "One of Those Big-City Girls," concerning a woman in her forties drawn to younger men; and more, including the title tale, a moving narrative of a boy's first love. "Carpenter shows his versatility and ability to handle strong themes with cool precision...a consistently interesting craftsman." --&nbsp;Kirkus Reviews "Don Carpenter is a particular favorite of mine." -- Jonathan Lethem "Don Carpenter could be hilarious, and he could break your heart, and he could write about ego and frailty as well as anyone on earth. I loved him like crazy." -- Anne Lamott</div>

The Murder of the Frogs and Other Stories (Dover Literature: Literary Fiction)

Dover Publications

Getting Off

E.P.Dutton

A short novel and two stories. Admiring dustjacket blurbs by Norman Mailer, Richard Brautigan and Thomas McGuane.

The Class of '49

NORTH POINT PRESS

The Dispossessed

A couple of comedians: A novel

Jackie Jeminovski seems to have it all, but in truth her finances are dwindling, her children's lives are stagnating, her relationship is on the rocks, and alohol has become her constant companion

From a Distant Place

United States

North Point Pr

A hardboiled novel about life in the American underground, from the pool halls of Portland to the cells of San Quentin. Simply one of the finest books ever written about being down on your luck. Don Carpenter’s Hard Rain Falling is a tough-as-nails account of being down and out, but never down for good—a Dostoyevskian tale of crime, punishment, and the pursuit of an ever-elusive redemption. The novel follows the adventures of Jack Levitt, an orphaned teenager living off his wits in the fleabag hotels and seedy pool halls of Portland, Oregon. Jack befriends Billy Lancing, a young black runaway and pool hustler extraordinaire. A heist gone wrong gets Jack sent to reform school, from which he emerges embittered by abuse and solitary conﬁnement. In the meantime Billy has joined the middle class—married, fathered a son, acquired a business and a mistress. But neither Jack nor Billy can escape their troubled pasts, and they will meet again in San Quentin before their strange double drama comes to a violent and revelatory end.

Hard Rain Falling (New York Review Books Classics)

NYRB Classics

Don Carpenter was one of the finest novelists in the West. His first novel, A Hard Rain Falling, published in 1966, has been championed by Richard Price, and George Pelecanos called it a masterpiece . . . the definitive juvenile-delinquency novel and a damning indictment of our criminal justice system.” His novel A Couple of Comedians is thought by some the best novel about Hollywood ever written. Fridays at Enrico’s is the story of four writers living in Northern California and Portland during the early, heady days of the Beat scene, a time of youth and opportunity. This story mixes the excitement of beginning with the melancholy of ambition, often thwarted and never satisfied. Loss of innocence is only the first price you pay. These are people, men and women, tender with expectation, at risk and in love. Carpenter also carefully draws a portrait of these two remarkable places, San Francisco and Portland, in the ’50s and early ’60s, when writers and bohemians were busy creating the groundwork for what came to be the counterculture. The complete penultimate manuscript forgotten since the author’s death, was recently discovered, and we’re thrilled to see this book into print.

Fridays at Enrico's: A Novel

Counterpoint

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