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AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE A GUARDIAN BEST MEMOIR OF 2023 A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023 John Niven''s little brother Gary was fearless, popular, stubborn, handsome, hilarious and sometimes terrifying. After years of chaotic struggle against the world took his own life at the age of 42. Tracking the lives of two brothers in changing times - from illicit cans of lager in 70s sitting rooms to ecstasy in 90s raves - O Brother is a tender, affecting and often uproariously funny story. It is about the bonds of family and how we try to keep the best of those we lose alive. It is about black sheep and what it takes to break the ties that bind. Fundamentally it is about how families survive suicide, ''that last cry, from the saddest outpost.''
About the author
John Niven is the author of eleven books, including
Kill Your Friends,
The Second Coming and
Straight White Male. As a screenwriter his credits include
The Trip,
Kill Your Friends and
How to Build a Girl.
O Brother is his first non-fiction book.
@estellecostanza
Summary
AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
A GUARDIAN BEST MEMOIR OF 2023
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023
John Niven's little brother Gary was fearless, popular, stubborn, handsome, hilarious and sometimes terrifying. After years of chaotic struggle against the world took his own life at the age of 42.
Tracking the lives of two brothers in changing times - from illicit cans of lager in 70s sitting rooms to ecstasy in 90s raves - O Brother is a tender, affecting and often uproariously funny story. It is about the bonds of family and how we try to keep the best of those we lose alive. It is about black sheep and what it takes to break the ties that bind. Fundamentally it is about how families survive suicide, 'that last cry, from the saddest outpost.'
Report
Vivid, visceral, brilliantly funny in places, dispensing sharp punches to the gut in others . . . [O Brother] made me sob more than once, and I suspect it will do the same to you Guardian
