The Reason Youre Alive

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook A compact powerhouse of a novel ... subversive unexpected and utterly compelling Booklist A valuable addition to fiction about the tangled aftereffects of Vietnam on soldiers in the field Kirkus After sixtyeightyearold David Granger crashes his BMW medical tests reveal a brain tumor that he readily attributes to his wartime Agent Orange exposure. He wakes up from surgery repeating a name no one in his civilian life has ever heard that of a Native American soldier whom he was once ordered to discipline. David decides to return something precious he long ago stole from the man he now calls Clayton Fire Bear. It might be the only way to find closure in a world increasingly at odds with the one he served to protect. It might also help him finally recover from his wifes untimely demise. As David confronts his past to salvage his present a poignant portrait emerges that of an opinionated and goodhearted American patriot fighting like hell to stay true to his red white and blue heart even as the country he loves rapidly changes in ways he doesnt always like or understand. Hanging in the balance are Grangers distant artdealing son Hank his adoring sevenyearold granddaughter Ella and his best friend Sue a VietnameseAmerican who respects Davids fearless sincerity. Through the controversial wrenching and wildly honest David Granger Matthew Quick offers a nononsense but ultimately hopeful view of Americas polarized psyche. By turns irascible and hilarious insightful and inconvenient David is a complex wounded honorable and ultimately loving man. The Reason Youre Alive examines how the secrets and debts we carry from our past define us it also challenges us to look beyond our own prejudices and search for the good in our supposed enemies. MORE PRAISE FOR THE REASON YOURE ALIVE Dark funny and surprisingly tender. Publishers Weekly