The Gunners, Rebecca Kauffman
The Gunners, Rebecca Kauffman
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
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The Gunners
A Novel

Author: Rebecca Kauffman

Narrator: Michael David Axtell

Unabridged: 8 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/20/2018


Synopsis

Following on her wonderfully received first novel, Another Place You’ve Never Been, called “mesmerizing,” “powerful,” and “gorgeous,” by critics all over the country, Rebecca Kauffman returns with Mikey Callahan, a thirty-year-old who is suffering from the clouded vision of macular degeneration. He struggles to establish human connections―even his emotional life is a blur.As the novel begins, he is reconnecting with “the Gunners,” his group of childhood friends, after one of their members has committed suicide. Sally had distanced herself from all of them before ending her life, and she died harboring secrets about the group and its individuals. Mikey especially needs to confront dark secrets about his own past and his father. How much of this darkness accounts for the emotional stupor Mikey is suffering from as he reaches his maturity? And can the Gunners, prompted by Sally’s death, find their way to a new day? The core of this adventure, made by Mikey, Alice, Lynn, Jimmy, and Sam, becomes a search for the core of truth, friendship, and forgiveness.A quietly startling, beautiful book, The Gunners engages us with vividly unforgettable characters and advances Rebecca Kauffman’s place as one of the most important young writers of her generation.

About Rebecca Kauffman

Rebecca Kauffman received her BA in classical violin performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She later attended New York University, where she received her MFA in creative writing.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Barbara

Thank you GR friend Elyse for steering me to “The Gunners” by Rebecca Kauffman. This is one that leaves you gut-punched in so many ways. A group of latchkey kids from the scrappier part of Buffalo NY (Lackawanna) form a “club” in an old, abandoned house near their homes. The children are neighbors; t......more

Goodreads review by Debra

The "Gunners" were a group of childhood friends (Mickey, Sally, Sam, Alice, Jimmy, Lynn) who named themselves after the family who owned the old abandoned house which they used as their hangout location. They were inseparable and had many adventures together, until one day Sally, broke apart from th......more


Quotes

“This engrossing book’s suspense lies not just in what will happen but in what already has…gracefully pivoting between past and present.” O, The Oprah Magazine

“Like an intimate hangout session, dashed with suspense and a few extra layers of emotional beauty.” Entertainment Weekly

“There’s so much generosity and spirit and humor shared by whatever characters are on the page at any given time that I was always happy to accompany them.” New York Times Book Review

“This tender story explores the secrets we carry from the past.” Real Simple

“This story examines how the secrets held and harbored by friends, and the defining relationships of childhood and adolescence, never fully leave us.” Esquire

“If it’s rare for a contemporary literary novelist to address emotion so bluntly…[or] to write novels with morals or messages, but The Gunners has one. It’s clear, though not easy: Accept your emotions. Feel them bluntly, plainly. Allow yourself to flinch.” NPR

“Michael David Axtell’s narration is truly wonderful…Axtell gives each person’s story immediacy and makes each motive understandable…Axtell’s superb narration adds credibility to Kauffman’s exploration of the complexities of the human heart. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” AudioFile

“Perceptive, funny, and endearing…This remarkable novel is just as satisfying and provides readers with an entire cast of characters who will feel like old friends upon finishing.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Kauffman has created vivid and compelling characters struggling with what is in some ways the most universal dilemma: how to grow up…In fluid prose, Kauffman lays bare the lessons of youth and truth. A layered and loving bildungsroman of friendship.” Kirkus Reviews

“I recommend you read every single thing Rebecca Kauffman writes—start with this beautiful novel, and start now.” Julie Buntin, author of Marlena


Awards

  • Time Out New York Pick of the Month
  • Real Simple Pick
  • Entertainment Weekly “Must Read”
  • Oprah’s Book Club Selection
  • Harper’s Bazaar Pick
  • Esquire Pick
  • Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
  • Chicago Review of Books Pick
  • Refinery29 Pick
  • AudioFile Earphones Award
  • Dublin Literary Award
  • New York Times Book Review pick