Description
Description
Town College City Road follows Kurt Boozel from childhood in an insular Northwestern Pennsylvania steel town through life's booms and busts, and back to his Rust Belt home. As a teenage math whiz, Kurt is bullied but relishes the opportunity to tutor his high school's star athlete. After their friendship ends in a public and emasculating act of violence, Kurt steers his life progressively eastward, first as a closeted economics major clinging to the coattails of his richer fraternity brothers, then to New York for a high-pressure finance job. After turning his attention to the fantastic promises of the cryptocurrency market, he finds himself unmoored while driving across Pennsylvania in the midst of a snowstorm to be the best man at his brother's wedding. Through his struggles to pass multiple masculine initiations, both real and metaphorical, Kurt ultimately discovers that the only thing tougher than running away from rural mythology is constructing a new one.
About the Author
About the Author
Patrick McGinty teaches at Slippery Rock University and serves on the executive council for his statewide faculty union, APSCUF. He is the author of Test Drive, a novel about Pittsburgh's driverless car sector.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"McGinty's work is shockingly, Joyceanly immersive. To read Town College City Road is to see your own world that much more clearly."--Sarah Marshall, host of You're Wrong About
"Personal and sweeping, honed to the marvel of the moment, this coming-of-age against the backdrop of a tech (r)evolution offers subtle critique about what we value and why--both in ourselves and others. Neither a hero nor quite an underdog, Kurt faces challenges that reflect the fragmented and fragile social structure that Millennials and Gen Z occupy."--Alex Myers, author of Revolutionary
"No one concocts a world like McGinty. This unflinching odyssey illuminates the hidden costs of ambition and the pull of home with breathtaking clarity. Town College City Road will leave readers both shattered and strangely hopeful--a brilliant, unmissable novel that cements a major literary talent."--Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot
"An emotionally complex coming-of-age story."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"McGinty creates a vivid picture of the journey from boyhood to manhood and the risks and uncertainties of the choices one makes. Readers will empathize with the difficulty of finding one's place in the world."-- "Library Journal"
"Takes a nuanced look at class mobility, considering both what we gain, and what we lose."
-- "Electric Lit"
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
University of Wisconsin Press
Pub date:
2025-09-23
Length:
284 pages
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