Harder They Come

<p><strong>A powerful gripping novel that explores the roots of violence and anti-authoritarianism inherent in the American character </strong></p><p>Set in contemporary Northern California <em>The Harder They Come</em> explores the volatile connections between three damaged people--an aging ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran his psychologically unstable son and the son's paranoid much older lover--as they careen towards an explosive confrontation.</p><p>On a vacation cruise to Central America with his wife seventy-year-old Sten Stensen unflinchingly kills a gun-wielding robber menacing a busload of senior tourists. The reluctant hero is relieved to return home to Fort Bragg California after the ordeal--only to find that his delusional son Adam has spiraled out of control.</p><p>Adam has become involved with Sara Hovarty Jennings a hardened member of the Sovereign Citizens' Movement right-wing anarchists who refuse to acknowledge the laws and regulations of the state considering them to be false and non-applicable. Adam's senior by some fifteen years Sara becomes his protector and inamorata. As Adam's mental state fractures he becomes increasingly schizophrenic--a breakdown that leads him to shoot two people in separate instances. On the run he takes to the woods spurring the biggest manhunt in California history.</p><p>As he explores a father's legacy of violence and his powerlessness in relating to his equally violent son T. C. Boyle offers unparalleled psychological insights into the American psyche. Inspired by a true story <em>The Harder They Come</em> is a devastating and indelible novel from a modern master.</p>