The Bushwhacked Piano - (Vintage Contemporaries) by Thomas McGuane (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The unforgettable story of a hero who goes from Michigan to Montana on a demented mission of courtship--from the acclaimed author of Ninety-two in the Shade and Cloudbursts, a "writer of the first magnitude.... The preternatural force, grace, and self-control of his prose recall Faulkner" (The New York Times Book Review).

As a citizen, Nicholas Payne is not in the least solid. As a boyfriend, he is nothing short of disastrous, and his latest flame, the patrician Ann Fitzgerald, has done a wise thing by dropping him. But Ann isn't counting on Nicholas's wild persistence, or on the slapstick lyricism of Thomas McGuane--highlights include a ride on a homicidal bronco and an apprenticeship to the inventor of the world's first highrise for bats. The result is a tour de force of American Dubious.

From the Back Cover

As a citizen, Nicholas Payne is not in the least solid. As a boyfriend, he is nothing short of disastrous, and his latest flame, the patrician Ann Fitzgerald, has done a whose thing by dropping him. But Ann isn't counting on Nicholas's would persistence, or on the slapstick lyricism of Thomas McGuane, who in The Bushwhacked Piano sends his hero form Michigan to Montana on a demented mission of courtship whose highlights include a ride on a homicidal bronco and apprenticeship to the inventor of the world's first highrise for bats. The result is a tour de force of American dubious.

Review Quotes

"The work of a writer of the first magnitude. His sheer writing skill is nothing short of amazing. The preternatural force, grace, and self-control of his prose recall Faulkner.... McGuane is a virtuoso." --The New York Times Book Review

"McGuane shares with Celine a genius for seeing the profuse, disparate materials of everyday life as a highly organized nightmare." --The New Yorker

"A novel of wisecracks and puns and ordinary objects invested with legendary potency." --Newsweek

About the Author

THOMAS McGUANE lives on a ranch in McLeod, Montana. He is the author of ten novels, including the National Book Award-nominated Ninety-two in the Shade, three works of nonfiction, and four collections of stories. His work has won numerous awards, including the Rosenthal Award of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and has been anthologized in the Best American Stories, Best American Essays, and Best American Sporting Essays.