When 17-year-old Luke Hunter foretells the death of his friend with freakish accuracy, life gets complicated, fast. Everyone in Stokum, his rank little pinprick of a hometown, knows about the premonition and wants to know more. But Luke holds everyone—the local news crew, his buddy Fang, the Polish widow next door—at arm’s length as he lurches through his own personal minefield studded with previously unconsidered existential ponderings, Christian fundamentalists, a missing girl’s frantic mother, and a dream girl who isn’t his. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is a darkly comic coming-of-age novel that nails contemporary youth culture and sits comfortably alongside the recent offerings by Miriam Toews and DBC Pierre.

Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet

Literature & Fiction

Proulx, Joanne

Literary

Penguin Canada

ANTHEM OF A RELUCTANT PROPHET

Picador

Picador USA

“Stan,” I said, and I said it kind of loud so of course he had to look up. “Tomorrow morning: 8:37. The red van with the out-of-state plates? You go head to head. You lose. You die.” After freakishly foretelling the death of a friend, Luke Hunter becomes big news in Stokum, his rank little pinprick of a hometown. Terrified, but pretending not to be, Luke holds everyone—the local media, his buddy Fang, the Polish widow next door—at arm’s length as he lurches through a personal minefield studded with previously unconsidered existential ponderings, Christian fundamentalists, a missing teen’s frantic mother, and a dream girl who isn’t his. Hormonal and funny, exhilarating and wise, Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet slyly explores the need to belong, the isolation of youth, and the powerful brew of fear and truth, music and noise, that plays inside us all.

VIKING

We All Love the Beautiful Girls

Who do the lucky become when their luck sours? One frigid winter night, the happily prosperous Mia and Michael Slate discover that a close friend and business partner has cheated them out of their life savings. On the same night, their son, Finn, passes out in the snow at a party — a mistake with shattering consequences. Everyone finds their own ways of coping with the ensuing losses. For Finn, it’s Jess, a former babysitter who sneaks into his bed at night, even as she refuses to leave her boyfriend. Mia and Michael find themselves forgoing tenderness for rougher sex and seeking solace outside their marriage: Mia in a flirtation with a former colleague, whose empty condo becomes a blank canvas for a new life, and Michael at an abandoned baseball diamond, with a rusty pitching machine and a street kid eager to catch balls in Finn’s old glove. As they creep closer to the edge — of betrayal, infidelity, and revenge — the story moves into more savage terrain. With honesty, compassion, and a tough emotional precision, award-winning author Joanne Proulx explores the itch of the flesh, sexual aggression, the reach of love and anger, and the question of who ultimately suffers when the privileged stumble.

Luke Hunter thinks he’s joking when he tells a good friend exactly when – 8:37 the following morning – and how – hit by a red van from out of town – that friend will die. But when events unfold as Luke foretold, he wants none of it: he has enough problems being an average teenager without the added burden of seeing into the future – not to mention the ever-after. Terrified, but pretending not to be, Luke pushes his friends and family away, while the local news crew, a Christian fundamentalist preacher and a missing girl’s frantic mother all draw nearer, seeking to profit from Luke’s new-found ‘gift’.
 Written in clear, precise prose, Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is a darkly comic coming-of-age novel with a difference. Hormonal and humorous, exhilarating and wise, it is a book about fear and truth, life and death, and the music that plays inside us all.
 Written in clear, precise prose, Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is a darkly comic coming-of-age novel about death and life.

Children's Books

Perfect for fans of Rick Moody, Lauren Groff, and Celeste Ng, a propulsive literary breakout about three suburban families whose lives spiral dangerously out of control after tragedy strikes.Who suffers when the privileged fall? One frigid winter night, Mia and Michael Slate's comfortable world dissolves in an instant when they discover that their best friend has cheated them out of their life savings. At the same time, a few doors down, their teenaged son passes out in the snow at a party--a mistake whose consequences will shatter not just their family, but an entire community. In this arresting, masterful page-turner shot through with fierce, clear-eyed compassion and a sublime insight into human fragility, award-winning novelist Proulx explores the savage underpinnings of betrayal, infidelity, and revenge--and a multilayered portrait of love, in all its glory, that no reader will soon forget.

Grand Central Publishing

Perfect for fans of Rick Moody, Lauren Groff, and Celeste Ng, a propulsive literary breakout about three suburban families whose lives spiral dangerously out of control after tragedy strikes.Who suffers when the privileged fall? One frigid winter night, Mia and Michael Slate's comfortable world dissolves in an instant when they discover that their best friend has cheated them out of their life savings. At the same time, a few doors down, their teenaged son passes out in the snow at a party--a mistake whose consequences will shatter not just their family, but an entire community. In this arresting, masterful page-turner shot through with fierce, clear-eyed compassion and a sublime insight into human fragility, award-winning novelist Proulx explores the savage underpinnings of betrayal, infidelity, and revenge--and a multilayered portrait of love, in all its glory, that no reader will soon forget.

Who do the lucky become when their luck sours?One frigid winter night, the happily prosperous Mia and Michael Slate discover that a close friend and business partner has cheated them out of their life savings. On the same night, their son, Finn, passes out in the snow at a party - a mistake with shattering consequences.
Everyone finds their own ways of coping with the ensuing losses. For Finn, it's Jess, a former babysitter who sneaks into his bed at night, even as she refuses to leave her boyfriend. Mia and Michael find themselves forgoing tenderness for rougher sex and seeking solace outside their marriage: Mia in a flirtation with a former colleague, whose empty condo becomes a blank canvas for a new life, and Michael at an abandoned baseball diamond, with a rusty pitching machine and a street kid eager to catch balls in Finn's old glove. As they creep closer to the edge - of betrayal, infidelity, and revenge - the story moves into more savage terrain. 
With honesty, compassion, and a tough emotional precision, award-winning author Joanne Proulx explores the itch of the flesh, sexual aggression, the reach of love and anger, and the question of who ultimately suffers when the privileged stumble.

We All Love the Beautiful Girls Lib/E

Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Proulx, Joanne. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Proulx, Joanne

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Proulx, Joanne. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet

Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet

ANTHEM OF A RELUCTANT PROPHET

Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet

We All Love the Beautiful Girls

Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet

We All Love the Beautiful Girls

We All Love the Beautiful Girls

We All Love the Beautiful Girls Lib/E

We All Love the Beautiful Girls