. . TOWNIE is at once a painfully honest story about growing up in a town with few prospects, about fighting and clawing your way through a childhood, and a neighborhood, that seems hopeless, about rediscovering the man you never knew, about seizing fresh starts, whether through weightlifting or creative pursuits. By then, Dubus III had found a new way to draw on the anger of the “semi-abandoned,” turning his punches into sentences. . . This memoir spins out in detail the despair and violence that emerges from a childhood of poverty and parental absence. . There is the vicious gang rape of Dubus' sister, and his brother's suicide attempt (at age 13). Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2011. He eventually went through many young women and three broken marriages. The elder Dubus sent money home and took the children out on Sundays, but otherwise remained out of touch. -Kirkus Reviews, ★ Starred Review, Booklist -Donna Seaman, "Compelling, riveting, gritty and astonishingly moving, Dubus's memoir, Townie, achieves that rarest of qualities: It makes us love the boy who becomes the man." You'll never read the work of either man in quite the same way afterward. A striking, eloquent account of growing up poor and of the making of a writer.". Summary. "No one has written about misery, fury, need, violence, responsibility, and compassion better, and no one has ever strung them up together in quite the same way. When Dubus was preadolescent, his writer father of the same name (see Andre Dubus ), took up with a student of his, and the parents divorced. It's where houses had big green lawns. . Andre's Mailing List ).The author grew up poor in Massachusetts mill towns, the oldest of four children of the celebrated short-story writer Andre Dubus (1936–1999), who … The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 387 pages and is available in Hardcover Slipcased format. This is a gripping and disturbing memoir that delineates how deprivation, neglect, and violence generate fear, rage, and more violence. He takes us through his idyllic early years as the son of a writer in various small college towns, into the murky waters of divorce and its aftermath. In some ways, Dubus was lucky - his parents were educated, valued education, and were basically interested in what happened to their children - even though they had little time to spend with them (mother) or were preoccupied with their own personal needs and second families (father). . Townie, written by Andre Dubus III, is a memoir that portrays the detailed events, good or bad, of Andre Dubus III’s life as an adolescent until maturity. "Townie is a resolute story about the forging of a writer in fire and blood and a wrenching journey through the wreckage of New England’s lost factory world during the Vietnam War era. Now Available in Hardcover, Paperback and e-book. . . Dubus survived by lifting weights and learning to fight, but his unbridled aggression, even on the side of good, exacted a spiritual toll. At 16, he began training with weights and grew strong to fight his tormenters, and he became a vicious brawler in a leather jacket and ponytail. Townie celebrates that voice as Dubus finds his redemptive place in the world at last." No one with a pulse could fail to be moved – forcibly – by this book." It's where the college was where pop taught. . . Ultimately, he decided to take up his pen and write his way up from the bottom and into a new relationship with his father. . . Once known for his ability to speak with his fists, he shares how he turned his life around. The clash of worlds couldn't have been more stark--or more difficult for a son to communicate to a father. After their parents divorced in the 1970s, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. The elder Dubus sent money home and took the children out on Sundays, but otherwise remained out of touch. “Best Nine Books of 2011”, Esquire magazine . . I think the founders of early Christianity would recognize every figure among the cast of characters. The aesthetic hero, then, can speak but will not.” -S. Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling On July 23, 1986, Andre Dubus pulled over onto the side of the road to help a couple of strangers, male […] While his mother was at work, young toughs hung out at his house doing drugs. He eventually went through many young women and three broken marriages. After their parents divorced in the 1970s, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. Why does Dubus begin his story with this particular event? The first edition of the novel was published in 2011, and was written by Andre Dubus III. Townie - A Memoir. This week, we turn to Andre Dubus’s “A Father’s Story”, available here. » Powell's The main characters of this autobiography, memoir story are , . » Amazon Kindle . . SOURCE: An interview in Thomas E. Kennedy's Andre Dubus: A Study of the Short Fiction, Twayne Publishers, 1988, pp. For a few years, Dubus escaped into drugs, embracing the apathetic "no-way-out" attitude of his friends. . Just after he turned 12, Dubus's family fell rapidly into shambles after his father--the prominent writer Andre Dubus--not only left his wife for a younger woman but also left the family in distressing poverty on the violent and drug infested side of their Massachusetts mill town. . -Wally Lamb, "This is a wonderful book, the best first-person account of an author's life I have ever read. . . You may not view the world in quite the same way either." . . Whatever it cost Dubus to bare his soul and write this brutally honest and life-affirming memoir, it is an extraordinary gift to his readers--those in the fold already and the new ones that Townie will no doubt attract." In this gritty and gripping memoir, Dubus bares his soul in stunning and page-turning prose. 37 Full PDFs related to this paper. At 16, he began training with weights and grew strong to fight his tormenters, and he became a vicious brawler in a leather jacket and ponytail. Download. . . When Dubus was preadolescent, his writer father of the same name (see. Beautifully written and bursting with life, the book tells the story of a boy struggling to express his “hurt and rage,” first through violence aimed at school and barroom bullies and ultimately through the power of words. . A powerful, haunting memoir from acclaimed novelist Dubus III (The Garden of Last Days, 2008, etc. An acclaimed novelist reflects on his violent past and a lifestyle that threatened to destroy him - until he was saved by writing. Andre Dubus III is the author of five books: The Cage Keeper and Other Stories, Bluesman, and the New York Times bestsellers, House of Sand and Fog, The Garden of Last Days, and his memoir, Townie, a #4 New York Times bestseller and a New York Times A striking, eloquent account of growing up poor and of the making of a writer." . . . Written with vulnerability, love, affection, forgiveness, gentleness, compassion and humour, this erudite novel forms the well from which Andre Dubus is able to draw his inspiration. . “Best Non-Fiction of 2011”, Publisher’s Weekly Andre Dubus III is the author of The Garden of Last Days, House of Sand and Fog (a #1 New York Times bestseller, Oprah’s Book Club pick, and finalist for the National Book Award) and Townie, winner of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. -Anita Shreve, "I've never read a better or more serious meditation on violence, its sources, consequences, and, especially, its terrifying pleasures than Townie. Fight scenes occur often and are described in brutal detail. It would be incorrect to say that Dubus has exited the literary conversation, but there is one telling fact: Thomas Kennedy’s excellent book, Andre Dubus: A Study of the Short Fiction, published in 1988, remains the only full-length critical examination of Dubus’s work. His compassionate memoir abounds with exquisitely rendered scenes of fighting, cheating, drugging, drinking and loving. Now Available in Hardcover, Paperback and e-book. [Kennedy is an American … His father, an ex–marine officer turned celebrated writer and adored college professor, initially settled his first family in the bucolic countryside. . Book Review of Townie: A Memoir by Andre Dubus III. His parents were divorced and neither of them made much money so he and his two sisters and brother ended up moving from one small crummy neighborhood to another. Dubus and his three siblings spent much of their time alone while their mother worked to support the family. After their parents divorced in the 1970s, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. . When Dubus was preadolescent, his writer father of the same name (see Andre Dubus), took up with a student of his, and the parents divorced.Andre's mother became a social worker, working full-time with no support system, exhausted. -Richard Russo, "Every bit as riveting as Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle, Andre Dubus III's coming of age memoir, Townie, investigates another side of the brink-of-poverty childhood--namely, the side ruled by testosterone, rage, and fear. Published by W.W. Norton. Modeling himself on the Walking Tall sheriff, Buford Pusser, Dubus paid back acts of physical violence. Dubus’s life growing up was not easy. So chiseled are his dramatic memories, his shocking yet redemptive memoir of self-transformation feels like testimony under oath as well as hard-hammered therapy, coalescing, ultimately, in a generous, penetrating, and cathartic dissection of misery and fury, creativity and forgiveness, responsibility and compassion." » iTunes, Buy the Audio Book Online: The story is a universal one and it doesn't judge or proselytize; it simply presents people as they were or as they are. This is the area that Andre Dubus III grew up in, in his memoir Townie. The story is one of courage and endurance and ultimately spiritual salvation and reconciliation. . . OTHER BOOKS. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 400 pages and is available in ebook format. » Townie (167KB) . Andre Dubus III’s latest book is Townie: A Memoir. Growing up in hardscrabble old mill towns, Dubus learned to fight and survive and ultimately to find his own glorious voice. -Ann Hood, » IndieBound Townie: A Memoir Andre Dubus III, Norton, $25.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-393-06466-7. . Nearby, his father, an eminent author, taught on a college campus and took the kids out on Sundays. . Although their charismatic father was oblivious to his children’s suffering, he was not unloving, and when an accident left him confined to a wheelchair, their support was profound. Fighting saved him for a while; then he put down his fists and picked up a pen. . In this family, there is no parental abuse other than neglect - rather, abuse stems from the larger environment and culture of poverty, distrust, and despair. . His compassionate memoir abounds with exquisitely rendered scenes of fighting, cheating, drugging, drinking and loving. At Bradford , which he entered as a student, Dubus III was known only as his father’s son, “such a townie.” Although the author stopped expecting anything from his father, he yearned for the connection that finally came years later when he helped care for the elder Dubus after the 1986 car accident that crushed his legs. Dubus, a target for bullies, and his equally complex and resilient siblings were hungry, neglected, and imperiled within a storm of druggy nihilism and bloodlust. He was on a fast track to getting killed, or killing someone else, or to beatings … He quickly sets the tone with descriptions like these of his interactions with neighborhood youth. All Rights Reserved. . . Townie, New York Times’ Critic, Dwight Garner’s “Top Ten Non-Fiction Books of 2011” It is the early 1970s. It's a violent book in many ways, but the violence that is described is the kind that is with us every day, whether we recognize it or not. » Barnes & Noble Townie A Memoir (Downloadable Audiobook) : Dubus, Andre : Andre Dubus III, author of the National Book Award-nominated House of Sand and Fog and The Garden of Last Days, reflects on his violent past and a lifestyle that threatened to destroy him-until he was saved by writing. Hardcover : 352 pages The main characters of this autobiography, memoir story are , . -Rachel Meier. Weak and shy as he entered his teens, Dubus III lived with his mother and siblings in run-down houses in crime-ridden neighborhoods, where they ate canned food for dinner and considered occasional “mystery” car rides to nowhere special with their mother a big treat. To protect himself and those he loved from street violence, Andre learned to use his fists so well that he was even scared of himself. Townie, Finalist, 2012 Indie's Choice "Book of the Year for Adult Non-fiction", Townie, (W.W. Norton, New York, New York, February 2011), a New York Times “Editors’ Choice”, 2011 . » Barnes & Noble, Download Cover Image: He signed on as a boxer. “#1 Best Non-fiction Book of 2011”, Salon Dubus chronicles each traumatic incident and realization in stabbing detail. Meanwhile, at nearby Bradford College , his father taught, striding across campus in his neatly trimmed beard and Australian cowboy hats. In visceral and moving detail, Dubus describes how he exchanges his fear for fisticuffs and later unclenches those fists as he comes to understand the power of words and forgiveness. A 10-year-old Andre Dubus has moved into the rough, working class part of Haverhill, known as the Avenues. . Set in the mill town of Haverhill, Massachusetts during the 1970s, Andre recounts his time growing up and coming of age as the son of acclaimed writer and professor, Andre Dubus II. Townie - A Memoir The first edition of the novel was published in 2011, and was written by Andre Dubus III. Buy the Digital Book Online: After their parents divorce in the 1970's, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. But Dubus wasn’t born into poverty, rage, and violence. . AudioFile’s “Best Voices of the Year 2011”, Blackstone Audiobooks, “Best Books of 2011”, San Francisco Chronicle, ★ Starred Review, Publisher's Weekly . After their parents divorce in the 1970's, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. 90-123. Beautifully written and bursting with life, the book tells the story of a boy struggling to express his “hurt and rage,” first through violence aimed at school and barroom bullies and ultimately through the power of words. It also gives an insight into what Michael Herrington called "the other America," a shadow society we don't recognize but from which much of our national dynamic is derived. . To protect himself and those he loved from street violence, Andre learned to use his fists so well that he was even scared of himself. -James Lee Burke, "In his powerful memoir, Townie, Andre Dubus III explores the complicated and intense relationships between siblings, mothers and sons, and fathers and sons. Like I Was Not: Review of Andre Dubus III's Townie. ", ★ Starred Review, Kirkus . Lisa Fluet. “Best Books of 2011”, The Washington Examiner . “Top Ten Non-Fiction Books of 2011”, Hudson Booksellers At Bradford , which he entered as a student, Dubus III was known only as his father’s son, “such a townie.” Although the author stopped expecting anything from his father, he yearned for the connection that finally came years later when he helped care for the elder Dubus after the 1986 car accident that crushed his legs. After having his bike stolen, being slapped around by some of the town's bullies, and watching his brother and mother humiliated by some of the town's thugs, Dubus started lifting weights at home and boxing at the local gym. After young Andre's writer father packs up and leaves his family to the rough and tumble neighborhoods of a decaying New England mill town, his son is faced with an uncomfortable decision: to flee the bullies who rule the streets of his world or fight them. While his mother was at work, young toughs hung out at his house doing drugs. . To protect himself and those he loved from street violence, Andre learned to use his fists so well that he was even scared of himself. "A powerful, haunting memoir from acclaimed novelist Dubus III.The author grew up poor in Massachusetts mill towns, the oldest of four children of the celebrated short-story writer Andre Dubus (1936–1999), who abandoned the family in 1968 to pursue a young student. “Ethics demands an infinite movement, it demands disclosure. READ PAPER. . Weak and shy as he entered his teens, Dubus III lived with his mother and siblings in run-down houses in crime-ridden neighborhoods, where they ate canned food for dinner and considered occasional “mystery” car rides to nowhere special with their mother a big treat. by Rachel Meier, The Christian Science Monitor HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG; Dirty Love; Buy … It's where he lived in an apartment building with Theo Metrakos and … To protect himself and those he loved from street violence, Andre learned to use his fists so well that he was even scared of himself. . He first met Dubus … Dubus writes about growing up in Haverhill, Massachusetts in the 1970s after his parents divorced. . Andre Dubus’s … Like I Was Not: Review of Andre Dubus III's Townie. Townie by Andre Dubus III Essay 1751 Words | 8 Pages. “Townie” practically throbs in your hands. . Only by becoming a writer himself could Andre begin to bridge the abyss and save himself. This article appeared in the March 1, 2012 issue of the magazine. A short summary of this paper. “Best Non-Fiction Books of 2011”, Amazon . It details Dubus' childhood in Haverhill, Massachusetts and his frequently turbulent relationship with his father Andre Dubus II. . Growing up without a cookie cutter father, Andre never had a strong and omniscient figure to help him throughout childhood. . Amazon’s “Top Ten Editor’s Pick 2011” This memoir spins out in detail the despair and violence that emerges from a childhood of poverty and parental absence. In “Townie,” which details Dubus’s 1970s coming-of-age in the poor mill towns of Massachusetts, there are none of the usual signifiers of today’s ’70s … . It's a brutal and, yes, thrilling memoir that sheds real light on the creative process of two of our best writers, Andre Dubus III and his famous, much revered father. This article appeared in the March 1, 2012 issue of the magazine. . 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