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Title details for Harold by Steven Wright - Available

Harold

by Steven Wright
ebook
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2 of 2 copies available
A uniquely humorous and deeply profound novel from a legendary stand-up comedian that follows the thoughts of a 1960s third grader during a single day at school.
Steven Wright is one of the most significant and influential stand-up comedians in history. Rolling Stone ranked him fifteenth on their "50 Best Stand-ups of All Time" list, while the New York Times has written of his enduring legacy: "If you made a family tree of modern stand-up, he would top one of the few major and expanding branches. The children of Mr. Wright pack the comedy scene today." Now comes his first novel, which is sure to be unlike anything you've ever read.

From the outside, Harold is an average seven-year-old third grader growing up in the 1960s. Bored by school. Crushing on a girl. Likes movies and baseball—especially the hometown Boston Red Sox. Enjoys spending time with his grandfather. But inside Harold's mind, things are a lot more complex and unusual. His thoughts come to him as birds flying through a small rectangle in the middle of his brain. He visits an outdoor cafe on the moon and is invited aboard a spaceship by famed astronomer Carl Sagan. He envisions his own funeral procession and wonders if the driver of the hearse has even been born yet.

Harold documents the meandering, surreal, often hilarious, and always thought-provoking stream-of-consciousness ruminations of the title character during a single day in class. Saturated with the witticisms and profundities for which Wright's groundbreaking stand-up has long been venerated, this novel will change the way you perceive your daily existence. To quote one of its many memorable lines: "Everything doesn't have to make sense. Just look at the world and your life."

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 16, 2023

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781668022719

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781668022719
      • File size: 3069 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      April 15, 2023
      Harold is a third-grader who "loved living in the circus of his head." He pictures countless tiny birds in there, each a thought; so when a bird, of species real and imagined, flies through the little open rectangle in his brain, that's what he thinks about. Such as: what if people kept growing taller and taller like trees? He sits at his desk on a typical school day in the early 1960s, alert to his crush, Elizabeth; enamored of and enraged by his teacher; winging off into reveries and daydreams, his surprisingly edgy sensibility shaped by classic black-and-white movies and his affectionate, iconoclastic grandfather. His elaborately surreal and provocative inner journeys take him beneath a cemetery and to the moon. His wildly pivoting yet incisive commentary is spiked by his ire over war and dictators; he muses on the nature of time. "Harold was a wondering machine." Readers enthralled by stand-up comedian Wright's uniquely brainy, topsy-turvy, metaphysical, and epigrammatic humor will revel in Harold's uncanny, sharply funny, and profound ponderings in this sardonic yet tender tale of life's mysteries and the mind's marvels.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      May 12, 2023

      DEBUT This first novel from the brilliant mind of legendary deadpan comedian Wright is a funny and poignant story of a day in the life of a precocious 1960s third-grader. The questions never cease in the mind of seven-year-old Harold. As he sits in the classroom listening to his teacher, his mind begins to ponder the enigmas of the world. Oftentimes, Harold perplexes his teacher with one of these inquiries. He sees these fleeting thoughts as "birds flying through an open window" of his mind. His thoughts comfort him as his home life is contrasted with an aloof mother and an adventurous grandfather. His grandfather spurs his interest in the wide world outside of the classroom, while his mother's troubled mind may factor into his own brain's disquiet. A day in the life of Harold will never be dull. VERDICT The world as seen through the title character's eyes is full of awe-inspiring wonder and fascination and is very relatable. The sincerity of Harold's thoughts is often coupled with a cynical sense of humor that make for a droll and thought-provoking read that never ceases to prove enjoyable.--Philip Zozzaro

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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