Knifeboy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781416538219)

Friends. Family. Housekeepers.
All's Fair in Love, War, and Knife Selling.

Check your dignity at the door as you stride across the welcome mat with Jay Hauser in this insightful and strangely touching story about young love, fear, manipulation, and the lengths we go to to succeed in a world that values charisma, competition, and acceptance above all else. Set on the elite campus of Dartmouth College and in the well-heeled reaches of the Detroit suburbs, this twisted and affecting coming-of-age novel provides a startlingly authentic and often hilarious glimpse of life through the eyes of an indulged and misguided young hustler.

Jay Hauser is wrapping up his first year at Dartmouth when he takes a summer job selling knives door-to-door to prove to Isabelle, the great love of his life, that he is charming enough to pull it off. His quest quickly becomes a dark obsession as he works his way up the knife-selling ladder trying to win the summer sales competition and lands neck-deep in an absurd subculture that is harder to break away from than he could ever have imagined. As sophomore year looms on the horizon, Jay's summer "break" has evolved into a hazy bender spent lying and scamming his way through all the places -- and people -- he once called home.
Knifeboy marks the arresting debut of a fine young writer who reveals the unnerving reality of a ravenous generation in a lavish and unforgiving world.

Author: Tod Harrison Williams
ISBN-10: 1416538216
ISBN-13: 9781416538219
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Language: English
Published: 08/28/2007
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.84lbs
Size: 9.12h x 6.59w x 0.85d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/23/2007 pg. 44
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2007 pg. 825
Booklist 09/01/2007 pg. 54