The Flamethrowers a Novel

Now in paperback, the New York Times bestseller and most highly acclaimed novel of Spring 2013, the âÈêscintillatingly aliveâÈë (James Wood, The New Yorker) story of a young artist and the worlds she encounters in New York and Rome in the mid-1970sâÈ'âÈêelectric, addictive, smart, and satisfyingâÈë (O, The Oprah Magazine).The year is 1975 and RenoâÈ'so-called because of the place of her birthâÈ'has come to New York intent on turning her fascination with motorcycles and speed into art. Her arrival coincides with an explosion of activity in that worldâÈ'artists have colonized a deserted and industrial SoHo and are blurring the line between life and art. Reno meets a group of dreamers and raconteurs who submit her to a sentimental education of sorts. Ardent, vulnerable, and bold, she begins an affair with an artist named Sandro Valera, the estranged scion of an Italian tire and motorcycle empire. When they visit SandroâÈçs family home in Italy, betrayal sends her reeling into a clandestine undertow. The Flamethrowers is âÈêa high-wire performance worthy of Philippe PetitâÈë (The Washington Post), âÈêa brilliant lightning bolt of a novelâÈë (NPR), and an intensely engaging exploration of the mystique of the feminine, the fake, the terrorist. At its center is author Rachel KushnerâÈçs superbly realized protagonist, a young woman on the verge. Thrilling and fearless, this is a major American novel from a writer of spectacular talent and imagination. It âÈêunfolds on a bigger, brighter screen than nearly any recent American novel I can rememberâÈë (Dwight Garner, The New York Times).