Cures for Hunger - Hardcover

Deni Y. Bechard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1571313311 ISBN 13: 9781571313317

Publisher: Milkweed Editions, 2012

Synopsis

Where did such longings reside in us, passed on through blood or stories? It seemed to me then, hearing his words, that a fatherâ s life is a boyâ s first story.â from Cures for Hunger

At once an extraordinary family story and a highly unconventional portrait of the artist as a young man, Cures for Hunger is a singular, deeply affecting memoir, by one of the most acclaimed young writers in the world today.

"In Cures for Hunger, Deni Y. Bechard has created a moving story of rootlessness, rebellion, lost love, criminal daring, regret, and restless searching. Driven above all by the need to grasp his father's secrets, he has written his narrative in skillful, resonant prose graced with a subtle tone of obsession and longing."
Leonard Gardner, author of Fat City

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

As the motor’s vibrations cradled me, I tried to envision my life. I saw the red lines of highways on the map, stretched between cities like threads of torn cloth. I imagined a book that could hold it all together, plains and mountain ranges, dust-drab towns beyond interstates, and somewhere on the far edges, the valley in British Columbia and those nights in Virginia when I snuck out and stalked the highway, trying to fathom where I belonged on this threadbare continent.”

As a child, Deni Béchard has no idea his family is unusual. His mother is from Pittsburgh and there is a vague sense that his father is from Quebec, but when Deni is assigned to complete a family tree in school, he begins to wonder why he doesn’t know more about his father’s side of the family. Who is André Béchard, and why do the police seem so interested in him?

Soon after Deni’s mother leaves his father and decamps with her three children to Virginia, Deni learns that André was once a bank robber, a revelation that sets his imagination on fire. Boyish rebelliousness soon gives way to fantasies of a life of crime. At once attracted and repelled, Deni can’t escape the sense that his father’s life holds the key to understanding himself, and to making sense of his own passions and longings. Only when he goes off to college does Deni begin to unravel the story of his father’s life, eventually returning with it to the Quebecois family that André had fled long ago.

At once an extraordinary family story and a highly unconventional portrait of the artist as a young man, Cures for Hunger is a deeply affecting memoir, by one of the most acclaimed young writers in the world today.

Deni Y. Béchard was born in British Columbia and raised in Canada and the United States. His articles, stories, and translations have appeared in a number of magazines and newspapers. His first novel, Vandal Love, won the 2007 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. He lives in New York City.|
Where did such longings reside in us, passed on through blood or stories? It seemed to me then, hearing his words, that a father’s life is a boy’s first story.” from Cures for Hunger

You haven’t read a story like this one, even if your father was the kind of magnificent scoundrel you only find in Russian novels. Béchard is the rare writer who knows the secret to telling the true story. Just because the end is clear doesn’t mean the bets are off.” Marlon James, author of The Book of Night Women

This powerful and haunting memoir is a must-read for anyone who has struggled to uncover their identity within the shadow of a parent. In exquisitely sharp prose, Béchard renders his attempts to understand his father’s mysterious existence. This book is huge and achingly true.” Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance

A moving story of rootlessness, rebellion, lost love, criminal daring, regret, and restless searching. Driven above all by the need to grasp his father’s secrets, Béchard has written his narrative in skillful, resonant prose graced with a subtle tone of obsession and longing.” Leonard Gardner, author of Fat City

Béchard writes that prison taught his father the nature of the self, the way it can be shaped and hardened.’ As in a great novel, this darkly comic and lyrical memoir demonstrates the shaping of its author, who suffers the wreckage of his father’s life, yet manages to salvage all the beauty of its desperate freedoms. Béchard’s poetic gifts give voice to the outsiders of society, and make them glow with humanity and love.” Elizabeth McKenzie, author of Stop That Girl

From the Back Cover:

Where did such longings reside in us, passed on through blood or stories? It seemed to me then, hearing his words, that a father s life is a boy s first story. from Cures for Hunger
You haven t read a story like this one, even if your father was the kind of magnificent scoundrel you only find in Russian novels. Bechard is the rare writer who knows the secret to telling the true story. Just because the end is clear doesn t mean the bets are off. Marlon James, author of The Book of Night Women
This powerful and haunting memoir is a must-read for anyone who has struggled to uncover their identity within the shadow of a parent. In exquisitely sharp prose, Bechard renders his attempts to understand his father s mysterious existence. This book is huge and achingly true. Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance
A moving story of rootlessness, rebellion, lost love, criminal daring, regret, and restless searching. Driven above all by the need to grasp his father s secrets, Bechard has written his narrative in skillful, resonant prose graced with a subtle tone of obsession and longing. Leonard Gardner, author of Fat City
Bechard writes that prison taught his father the nature of the self, the way it can be shaped and hardened. As in a great novel, this darkly comic and lyrical memoir demonstrates the shaping of its author, who suffers the wreckage of his father s life, yet manages to salvage all the beauty of its desperate freedoms. Bechard s poetic gifts give voice to the outsiders of society, and make them glow with humanity and love. Elizabeth McKenzie, author of Stop That Girl
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About this edition

• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1571313311
• ISBN 13: 9781571313317
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320