{"product_id":"9780993433146","title":"The Death of Tarpons","description":"Now middle aged and in poor health, widower and grandfather Corey takes a solo trip home to Freeport, the Texan town he grew up in. But that trip turns out to represent much more than a poignant journey for old times' sake.\u003cp\u003eWith memories of his childhood prompted by the familiar Texan landscape, Corey narrates the story of the 1950s summer that changed his life forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDismissed and beaten by a frustrated and violent father and effectively abandoned by an emotionally fragile and obsessively religious mother, the teenage Corey turns to his grandfather for comfort.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen his grandfather is diagnosed with terminal cancer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs events unfold, it becomes clear that this is just one of several life-changing events to happen to Corey that summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis parents' marriage falls apart, his mother's mental health declines and his father becomes increasingly angry, as a beloved father and grandfather slides towards death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, Corey's best friend lives locally in a violent and dysfunctional household, until the ultimate tragedy strikes and Destin is whisked away to live with relatives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFaced with the loss of his closest friend and imminent loss of his grandfather, Cory focuses his attention on a very special project, a present for his father. A present intended to win his father's love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut it doesn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd Corey's good intentions vanish into violence...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd that is when, strengthened by the wise counsel of his dying grandfather, Corey realizes that it is time to be his own person.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The Death of Tarpons\" is a coming-of-age tale as the adult Corey recalls his past and sees with new clarity the issues surrounding love, parenthood, family and death which he must deal with.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePraise for \"The Death of Tarpons\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Edgerton's first novel shines with wisdom.\" - Publishers Weekly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Highly recommended for public libraries and for academic libraries supporting writing programs.\" - Library Journal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Edgerton's skillful writing and characterizations invite the reader to share Corey's horrors and hopes, to try to understand unreasonable motives, to care about the outcome.\" - Austin American-Statesman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"While this book deals with violence and cruelty, it is ultimately a definition of gentleness and love. It is a good story; it is a good book.\" - The Indianapolis Star\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"...this first novel reflects equally the author's respectable effort at expression, and its protagonist's expressive struggle. Big on heart.\" - Booklover's Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Edgerton is not just another stunning narrative talent, he is an important narrative authority - a master of his or any other generation.\" -Vincent Zandri, author of As Catch Can\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It is heart-felt, heart-rending, compulsively readable and wise.\" -Douglas Glover, author of The Life and Times of Captain N.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Les Edgerton's The Death of Tarpons is a big-hearted and beautiful story of love and death and the fact that we all grow up and away, for better and worse, from who and what we once were. A fine book, well worth the reading.\" -Bret Lott, author of Jewel\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Edgerton takes on one of the hoariest of projects, the family chronicle, but he explores individual characters and domestic relations in so particularized, so eloquent and-in the very best sense-so idiosyncratic a way, that we almost feel we are treading such ground for the first time.\" -Sydney Lea, author of A Place of Mind\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Betimes Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47034952548592,"sku":"9780993433146","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780993433146_p0.jpg?v=1763899523","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780993433146","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}