Headlock

A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Literary
Cover of the book Headlock by Adam Berlin, Workman Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Adam Berlin ISBN: 9781565127487
Publisher: Workman Publishing Publication: May 12, 2000
Imprint: Algonquin Books Language: English
Author: Adam Berlin
ISBN: 9781565127487
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Publication: May 12, 2000
Imprint: Algonquin Books
Language: English

This “powerful debut novel” follows two cousins on a dangerous road trip from New York to Las Vegas (Booklist, starred review).

Odessa Rose is the kind of guy who gives the term “hair-trigger temper” a whole new meaning. His violent nature has, more than once, produced blood. Dess was a college wrestling star who blew it all just shy of graduation when he lost a match and beat another wrestler to a pulp. Since his inglorious dismissal from college, he’s been parking cars for a living in downtown New York.

It’s there that his cousin Gary finds him and lures him away to Las Vegas. Gary has some uncontrollable impulses of his own: hugely overweight, he’s a compulsive gambler, playing fast and loose with thousands of dollars. But now there’s an enforcer tailing him, a sunglasses-wearing thug who has no trouble breaking hands, arms, legs. Gary needs protection in Vegas. Who better than his strong, volatile cousin Dess?

What do you do when you’re at a crossroads in life? When you want to be a different person than the one who’s made all the wrong choices? When your strength has become your greatest weakness? Headlock is “a brutal and potent debut novel . . . A grim, suspenseful drama to the end” (Valley Advocate).

“Odessa Rose has a violent temper and a wrestler’s strength, both inherited from his Russian immigrant grandfather, having skipped the generation of his father the economics professor . . . Gary’s uncontrolled appetites and Dess’s uncontrolled anger add to the tension of the trip, which is really about self-examination and redemption. The cousins struggle with the Rose family legend of a grandfather who fought hard and worked hard for the sake of the family, a family from which they are alienated. A powerful debut novel with fascinating characters.” —Booklist, starred review

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This “powerful debut novel” follows two cousins on a dangerous road trip from New York to Las Vegas (Booklist, starred review).

Odessa Rose is the kind of guy who gives the term “hair-trigger temper” a whole new meaning. His violent nature has, more than once, produced blood. Dess was a college wrestling star who blew it all just shy of graduation when he lost a match and beat another wrestler to a pulp. Since his inglorious dismissal from college, he’s been parking cars for a living in downtown New York.

It’s there that his cousin Gary finds him and lures him away to Las Vegas. Gary has some uncontrollable impulses of his own: hugely overweight, he’s a compulsive gambler, playing fast and loose with thousands of dollars. But now there’s an enforcer tailing him, a sunglasses-wearing thug who has no trouble breaking hands, arms, legs. Gary needs protection in Vegas. Who better than his strong, volatile cousin Dess?

What do you do when you’re at a crossroads in life? When you want to be a different person than the one who’s made all the wrong choices? When your strength has become your greatest weakness? Headlock is “a brutal and potent debut novel . . . A grim, suspenseful drama to the end” (Valley Advocate).

“Odessa Rose has a violent temper and a wrestler’s strength, both inherited from his Russian immigrant grandfather, having skipped the generation of his father the economics professor . . . Gary’s uncontrolled appetites and Dess’s uncontrolled anger add to the tension of the trip, which is really about self-examination and redemption. The cousins struggle with the Rose family legend of a grandfather who fought hard and worked hard for the sake of the family, a family from which they are alienated. A powerful debut novel with fascinating characters.” —Booklist, starred review

More books from Workman Publishing

Cover of the book The Rental Sister by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book The Big Book of Tricks for the Best Dog Ever by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Younger Next Year by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book The Buddha and the Terrorist by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book The Cage by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Cupcakes! by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book In the Land of Second Chances by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Barnacle Love by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Teenagers Learn What They Live by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Amazing Gracie by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Damned If You Do . . . by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Acts of God by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Younger Next Year for Women by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Do More Great Work by Adam Berlin
Cover of the book Monday-to-Friday Cookbook by Adam Berlin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy