The Obsession of Henry Enright

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(21 21 21 1)>A wrenching tumultuous coming-of-age tale from a first-time novelist.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(21 21 21 1)>At the start of this unsettling raw debut Henry Enright is driving through the heat of summer with his girlfriend Laura. He just identified the car-wrecked bodies of his gang of small-town friends. With this beginning the narrative sets a painfully nostalgic mood snaking through a rigidity and sense of loss that threaten to overwhelm the narrator. The tale unfolds through alternating eras from a humiliating 1950s Catholic schoolyard brawl to the heartbreak of middle-aged banality despair and alcoholism on the edge of the 1980s. Triggered by his return to the small community of Union Mass. Henry is haunted by painful memories while he reflects on the path that's led him to overwhelming dissatisfaction in his career his marriage and his role as a father. As the displaced adolescent Henry seeks greater acceptance from his schoolmates and the love of beautiful promiscuous Laura he confronts both deeper rejections and the consequences of his rebellious reputation.. Lorden's novel shows the anguish and obsession of a sensitive young man living a restrictive and prohibitive religion area and age. Battered by misunderstandings and heartache Henry faces only pressure and cruel treatment at the hands of peers elders and his own troubled psyche. Through his achingly honest account he also offers a glimpse of the racism and anti-Semitism rampant in the time and place. Lorden treads a fine hopeful line in the end attempting a resolution for these deeper rifts as the adult Henry is forced into confronting not only his past but the underlying yearnings of his soul.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(21 21 21 1)>An unnerving intricate debut novel offering insight into a fabled yet flawed age.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(21 21 21 1)>---Kirkus Review---</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>