The best first-person account of an author's life I have ever read. The violence that is described is the kind that is with us every day, whether we recognize it or not. The characters are wonderful and compassionately drawn. I sincerely believe Andre Dubus may be the best writer in America. His talent is enormous. No one who reads this book will ever forget it.--James Lee Burke

Whatever it cost Dubus to bare his soul and write this brutally honest and life-affirming memoir, it is an extraordinary gift to his readers.--Wally Lamb

Townie is a better, harder book than anything [Dubus III] has yet written; it pays off on every bet that's been placed on him.--Dwight Garner "New York Times"

Harrowing and strange and beautiful...This book marks an important moment in the growing body of Dubus's work.--Bret Lott "Boston Globe"

As a memoir, and as a family story, Townie is beautiful and almost perfectly executed. As a meditation on violence, from an author who once embraced it, it is shocking, necessary and indispensable.--Michael Schaub "NPR"

This haunting memoir is as explosive as a Muhammad Ali prize fight, as vivid as a Basquiat canvas...This wrenching story can only strengthen the reputation of Andre Dubus III. From father to son, the torch has passed.--Dan Cryer "San Francisco Chronicle"

A stormy and courageous memoir.--Kate Bittman "The New Yorker"

[Dubus III] is such a solid writer, he redeems the genre. He shows that truth can be as honest as fiction.--Mark Lindquist "Seattle Times"

Dubus has an eye for searing detail that is unequaled so far this century...and he employs that here to maximum effect.--Joy Tipping "Dallas Morning News"

I've never read a better or more serious meditation on violence, its sources, consequences, and, especially, its terrifying pleasures, than Townie. It's a brutal and, yes, thrilling memoir that sheds real light on the creative process of two of our best writers, Andre Dubus III and his famous, much revered father. You'll never read the work of either man in quite the same way afterward. You may not view the world in quite the same way either.--Richard Russo

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Pub date: 2012-02-06

Length: 400 pages