{"product_id":"9781617756030","title":"Knucklehead","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"This book is bold in how it treats the reader as an insider to the reality of American blackness. It can be, in turns, lyrically poignant, cynical, hilarious, and infuriating.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e, Starred Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In this comic debut novel, lawyer Marcus Hayes careens through the racially divisive 1990s while trying to manage his compulsive anger, chaotic love life, and economic misfortunes...Smyer gives Marcus a sardonic and hilarious voice reminiscent of a Paul Beatty protagonist and endows him with a troubled psychology that plumbs the nuances of black male identity.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"From page one, \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e is a literary punch in the face. Adam Smyer's exploration of rage is unflinching, brave, and absolutely brilliant. There's so much energy in this debut you could put it in your tank and drive on it.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eMat Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eLoving Day\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Adam Smyer is an incendiary new voice who announces himself with the force of a Category 5 hurricane. With refreshing honesty and rip-roaring, wipe-the-tears-from-your-eyes humor, \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e prefigures our deranged times through the prism of the 1990s, forever debunking the illusory promise of that era by turning the mirror to our collective failures and deficiencies. A staggering, unforgettable debut.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eArthur Nersesian\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Fuck-Up\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Adam Smyer's \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e is so smart, so wildly, uncategorizably original, such a flat-out revelation from page to page, you almost forget how savagely funny and fearless the author actually is. His prose calls to mind everyone from Fred Exley and Céline to Paul Beatty, Tao Lin, and a legion of other say-the-unsayable chroniclers of their own--and society's--demons. \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e is the kind of book you don't just admire, it's the kind that makes you want to buy in bulk and jam into the hands of loved ones and strangers as you scream in their faces, '\u003ci\u003eRead this or remain clueless!\u003c\/i\u003e' In a feat of fierce literary magic, the author's 1990s Bay Area and NYC peel back the curtain on our own Trump-stained era, exposing, in loving detail, the fine line between salvation and self-destruction that defines the times. No one who reads \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e will ever think the same about relationships, about family, about race, class, or the business of remaining sane--and human--in the world of crazy-making, soul-defiling choices we now inhabit. I straight-up loved this book.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eJerry Stahl\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eHappy Mutant Baby Pills\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Decades from now, Adam Smyer's \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e will be discussed in the same way we talk about the great works of Wright, Baldwin, and Hurston. He invites the reader to view a remote corner of rage and somehow does it with a ruthless sense of humor worthy of Jonathan Swift.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eJames Tracy\u003c\/b\u003e, coauthor of \u003ci\u003eHillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Reading \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e, I found my eyes going unaccountably wet. Hats off to Mr. Smyer for writing the only book about being black today that I could stomach to read.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eEugene S. Robinson\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eFight\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eKnucklehead\u003c\/i\u003e we meet Marcus Hayes, a black law student who struggles, sometimes unsuccessfully, with the impulse to confront everyday bad behavior with swift and antisocial action. The cause of this impulse is unknown to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Marcus unexpectedly becomes involved with the brilliant and kind Amalia Stewart, her love and acceptance pacify his demons. But when his demons return, he is no longer inclined to contain them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Akashic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47139314368752,"sku":"9781617756030","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781617756030_p0.jpg?v=1769904690","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781617756030","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}