Martin Chuzzlewit's wealthy grandfather forces him to emigrate to America after the selfish Martin falls in love with the wrong girl; upon his return, Martin seems to prove his worth.

"Smithy is an American original, worthy of a place on the shelf just below your Hucks, your Holdens, your Yossarians." —Stephen King
Every so often, a novel comes along that captures the public’s imagination with a story that sweeps readers up and takes them on a thrilling, unforgettable ride. Ron McLarty’s The Memory of Running is this decade’s novel. By all accounts, especially his own, Smithson "Smithy"...

Short Letter, Long Farewell is one the most inventive and exhilarating of the great Peter Handke's novels. Full of seedy noir atmospherics and boasting an air of generalized delirium, the book starts by introducing us to a nameless young German who has just arrived in America, where he hopes to get over the collapse of his marriage. No sooner has he arrived, however, than he discovers that his ex-wife is pursuing him. He flees, she follows, and soon...

A young man and his dog drive west from Ohio and marvel at the farms of Iowa, the skies of Nebraska, the wind in Wyoming, the mountains of Colorado, the desert in Nevada, and the ocean in Oregon.

Dante encourages his fifteen-year-old daughter to date only Spanish-speaking Hispanics, but she ignores his advice and runs off with a non-Spanish speaking Latino with tatoos and a shaved head. The disappearance cannot be reported to the police because Dante is in the U.S. illegally. So he sets out for Las Vegas, where the boyfriend supposedly lives, a journey that ultimately sheds light on issues such as immigration, cultural assimilation, and the...