Roscoe - Rilegato

Kennedy, William

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0743220730 ISBN 13: 9780743220736

Casa editrice: Scribner, 2002

Riassunto

From the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of IRONWEED and LEGS, ROSCOE is a comic journey into the dark heart of America's postwar democratic dream. It's V-J Day, World War II is finally over, and Roscoe is quitting politics after twenty-six years as chief brainstruster of Albany's notorious Democratic machine. The suave, brilliant, unscrupulous Falstaffian wants to hang up his white double-breasted Palm Beach suit and drift into retirement. But how will he relax his hold on the lid without the political pot boiling over, scalding his beloved and her family? Armed with the politician's most powerful credo - 'Righteousness doesn't stand a chance against the imagination' - Roscoe fights his final political battles. Every step forward leads Roscoe into the past - to the early loss of his true love, to his own particular heroics in World War I, the takeover of City Hall and the methodical assassination of the gangster Jack 'Legs' Diamond. ROSCOE is a comic masterpiece from one of America's most revered novelists.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

'William Kennedy's ALBANY CYCLE is one of the great achievements of modern American writing. And ROSCOE may well be the best yet. Written in rumbustious, pacey prose - more Irish than American, perhaps - informative, analytical, funny, tense, and wistful, ROSCOE is, undoubtedly, the real thing: a masterpiece.' John Harding, Daily Mail
'William Kennedy is pre-eminent among his generation of writers ... Kennedy is peerless in the depth and acuity of his sustained vision, and the lost, past world of Albany says more to us today about the current state, about the heart and soul, of American politics than any recent bestselling, Hollywood-pandering political thriller has ever done.' Robert Edric, Spectator
"Roscoe has the pace of mob stories such as Billy Bathgate, but its surprisingly tender close smooths the rough edges off the political intrigue in this excellent thriller"
Independent on Sunday 31/8
'Kennedy is master of the literary set-piece. There are moments in the novel that simply demand the sort of silence you only get by closing the covers and taking a deep breath ... Kennedy steps into the lost moments of the past and makes history real.' Colum McCann, Irish Times
'There is a grittiness to [Kennedy's] work that these days is rare, and precious ... Roscoe is no cartoon of a machine politico but a real, complex, infinitely interesting and - in his fashion - wholly sympathetic human being.' Jonathan Yardley, Guardian
'Kennedy's writing s a triumph: he tackles topics - we get the lowdown on politics, chicken fighting and running a whorehouse, amongst other matters - in a gloriously comic, almost old-fashioned language. You feel Kennedy could write the Albany phone book and make it utterly entertaining. An Immediate classic.' Omer Ali, Time Out
'A sumptuous feast awaits. Roscoe proves the perfect representative of this gloriously twisted world. Kennedy proves to be truly Shakespearean.' Stephen Amidon, Sunday Times
'Kennedy has clearly got the inside dope. His Runyonesque players are massively corrupt, but the tone is one of bittersweet celebration. More to the point, Kennedy writes incredibly well. His style is compressed and supple, and he has a finely tuned ear for the vernacular.' Christopher Taylor, Sunday Telegraph
'I was hooked from the first sentence onwards. It's a great sentence, and it gets better and better.' Akarim Jivani, Newsnight Review
'Kennedy's novel is crammed full of sharp, black humour. A thoroughly engaging fictional journey into the black heart of American politics' David Archibald, Scotland on Sunday
'The book's main asset - apart from its comedic gifts and its vivid characters - is the mirror it holds up to American political life. ROSCOE is both a welcome addition to Kennedy's ALBANY CYCLE and an excellent corrective to the political fantasies which feed our wishful thinking.' John Burnside, Scotsman
'ROSCOE has a certain amount to live up to. And it does.' Gareth Rubin, Sunday Express ****
'I'm still reeling from the effect of ROSCOE. This one is special, monolithic and unique.' Alan Sillitoe
ROSCOE also featured in the following end of year round-ups:
Time Out 'Book Critics' Choice 2002'
Independent on Sunday 'Books of the Year 2002'
Sunday Herald 'Best books of 2002'
Sunday Times 'Year's winning novels'
ROSCOE by William Kennedy
'Kennedy offers a fascinating glimpse into those murky corners of American political life you don't read about in the newspapers. And in the larger-than-life figure of Roscoe, he has created a superb character who's fully rounded in every sense'
Mail on Sunday 12/10

L'autore:

William Kennedy was born and raised in Albany, New York. His Albany Cycle of novels is recognised as one of the great achievements of postwar American literature, and includes LEGS, BILLY PHELAN'S GREATEST GAME, IRONWEED, VERY OLD BONES, QUINN'S BOOK and the FLAMING CORSAGE.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Scribner
• Data di pubblicazione: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0743220730
• ISBN 13: 9780743220736
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 320