The volunteer: a novel
(Book)
Author:
Published:
New York : Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2020.
Format:
Book
Physical Desc:
419 pages ; 21 cm
Status:
Cable Adult Fiction
FIC SCI pb
Description
"Thrilling… Scibona has built a masterpiece." – The New York Times Book Review
"All of it — all of it — is just so ridiculously beautiful." – Jason Sheehan, NPR.org
"The rewards are enormous. This is a spectacular work of fiction." – San Francisco Chronicle
A long-awaited new novel from a National Book Award Finalist, the epic story of a restless young man who is captured during the Vietnam War and pressed into service for a clandestine branch of the United States government
A small boy speaking an unknown language is abandoned by his father at an international airport, with only the clothes on his back and a handful of money jammed in the pocket of his coat. So begins The Volunteer. But in order to understand this heartbreaking and indefensible decision, the story must return to the moment, decades earlier, when a young man named Vollie Frade, almost on a whim, enlists in the United States Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam. Breaking definitively from his rural Iowan parents, Vollie puts in motion an unimaginable chain of events, which sees him go to work for insidious people with intentions he cannot yet grasp. From the Cambodian jungle, to a flophouse in Queens, to a commune in New Mexico, Vollie's path traces a secret history of life on the margins of America, culminating with an inevitable and terrible reckoning.
With intense feeling, uncommon erudition, and bracing style, Scibona offers at once a pensive exploration of how we are capable of both inventing and discovering our true families and a lacerating interrogation of institutional power at its most commanding and terrifying. An odyssey of loss and salvation ranging across four generations of fathers and sons, The Volunteer is a triumph in the grandest traditions of American storytelling.
"All of it — all of it — is just so ridiculously beautiful." – Jason Sheehan, NPR.org
"The rewards are enormous. This is a spectacular work of fiction." – San Francisco Chronicle
A long-awaited new novel from a National Book Award Finalist, the epic story of a restless young man who is captured during the Vietnam War and pressed into service for a clandestine branch of the United States government
A small boy speaking an unknown language is abandoned by his father at an international airport, with only the clothes on his back and a handful of money jammed in the pocket of his coat. So begins The Volunteer. But in order to understand this heartbreaking and indefensible decision, the story must return to the moment, decades earlier, when a young man named Vollie Frade, almost on a whim, enlists in the United States Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam. Breaking definitively from his rural Iowan parents, Vollie puts in motion an unimaginable chain of events, which sees him go to work for insidious people with intentions he cannot yet grasp. From the Cambodian jungle, to a flophouse in Queens, to a commune in New Mexico, Vollie's path traces a secret history of life on the margins of America, culminating with an inevitable and terrible reckoning.
With intense feeling, uncommon erudition, and bracing style, Scibona offers at once a pensive exploration of how we are capable of both inventing and discovering our true families and a lacerating interrogation of institutional power at its most commanding and terrifying. An odyssey of loss and salvation ranging across four generations of fathers and sons, The Volunteer is a triumph in the grandest traditions of American storytelling.
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Cable Adult Fiction
FIC SCI pb
Available
More Details
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780525558545 (paperback), 0525558543 (paperback)
Notes
Description
"A small boy speaking an unknown language is abandoned by his father at an international airport, with only the clothes on his back and a handful of money jammed in the pocket of his coat. So begins The Volunteer. But in order to understand this heartbreaking and indefensible decision, the story must return to the moment, decades earlier, when a young man named Vollie Frade, almost on a whim, enlists in the United States Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam. Breaking definitively from his rural Iowan parents, Vollie puts in motion an unimaginable chain of events, which sees him go to work for insidious people with intentions he cannot yet grasp. From the Cambodian jungle, to a flophouse in Queens, to a commune in New Mexico, Vollie's path traces a secret history of life on the margins of America, culminating with an inevitable and terrible reckoning. With intense feeling, uncommon erudition, and bracing style, Scibona offers at once a pensive exploration of how we are capable of both inventing and discovering our true families and a lacerating interrogation of institutional power at its most commanding and terrifying. An odyssey of loss and salvation ranging across four generations of fathers and sons, The Volunteer is a triumph in the grandest traditions of American storytelling"--Provided by publisher.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Scibona, S. (2020). The volunteer: a novel. New York, Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Scibona, Salvatore. 2020. The Volunteer: A Novel. New York, Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Scibona, Salvatore, The Volunteer: A Novel. New York, Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2020.
MLA Citation (style guide)Scibona, Salvatore. The Volunteer: A Novel. New York, Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2020.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
7c3da57c-4218-2a3a-f444-0766c126561c
QR Code
Record Information
| Last Sierra Extract Time | Dec 15, 2024 10:17:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Last File Modification Time | Dec 15, 2024 10:17:13 PM |
| Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Dec 15, 2024 10:17:05 PM |
MARC Record
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| 650 | 0 | |a Fathers and sons |v Fiction. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Vietnam War, 1961-1975 |x Veterans |v Fiction. | |
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