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The Ordinary White Boy
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The Ordinary White Boy Hardback - 2001

by Brock Clarke

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Summary

Endearing, infuriating, and utterly irresistible, Lamar Kerry is a twenty-seven-year-old Ordinary White Boy. He wears khaki pants, work boots, and flannel shirts; dances like Mick Jagger when he dances at all (only when drunk); and when in doubt, he reaches for a beer. His father sent him to college expecting him to become extraordinary, but Lamar returned home a bright, cocky, over-educated, middle-class boy adrift in a depressed, comatose, working-class town.
Now the town's only Hispanic is missing and feared dead, Lamar's mother is enfeebled by MS, and both his girlfriend and his father are tired of being disappointed in him. Can Lamar turn himself into a professor of "racist remediation" and save the soul of his town? Can he stop hiding out in his ordinariness and do what is right by his father, his mother, his girlfriend, and himself? Can this ordinary white boy finally become a man?
With a character both unforgettably unique yet universal, in a voice both tender and biting, Clarke mixes subtle social criticism with laugh-out-loud funny observations and introduces to literature the ordinary white boy in all of us.

Reader reviews for The Ordinary White Boy

From the publisher

Endearing, infuriating, and utterly irresistible, Lamar Kerry is a twenty-seven-year-old Ordinary White Boy. He wears khaki pants, work boots, and flannel shirts; dances like Mick Jagger when he dances at all (only when drunk); and when in doubt, he reaches for a beer. His father sent him to college expecting him to become extraordinary, but Lamar returned home a bright, cocky, over-educated, middle-class boy adrift in a depressed, comatose, working-class town.
Now the town's only Hispanic is missing and feared dead, Lamar's mother is enfeebled by MS, and both his girlfriend and his father are tired of being disappointed in him. Can Lamar turn himself into a professor of "racist remediation" and save the soul of his town? Can he stop hiding out in his ordinariness and do what is right by his father, his mother, his girlfriend, and himself? Can this ordinary white boy finally become a man?
With a character both unforgettably unique yet universal, in a voice both tender and biting, Clarke mixes subtle social criticism with laugh-out-loud funny observations and introduces to literature the ordinary white boy in all of us.

Details

  • Title The Ordinary White Boy
  • Author Brock Clarke
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition First Edition; F
  • Pages 272
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Houghton Mifflin, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
  • Publication date 2001-09-10
  • ISBN 9780151008100 / 0151008108
  • Weight 1.2 lbs (0.54 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.26 x 6.33 x 1.07 in (23.52 x 16.08 x 2.72 cm)
  • Category Fiction - General
  • Library of Congress subjects New York (N.Y.), Fathers and sons
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2001024184
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR ORDINARY WHITE BOY

"An extraordinary account of what passes as ordinary life in an upstate New York community. Brock Clarke treats small-town controversy with wit and sympathy, and along the way he unravels conventional measures of self-worth. A confident, fierce, and hilarious novel with great emotional richness."
--Joanna Scott, author of Arrogance and Make Believe
"This is a smart, honest, funny, winning book. Extraordinary, really."
--Antonya Nelson, author of Talking in Bed and Nobody's Girl

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The Ordinary White Boy
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The Ordinary White Boy

by Brock Clarke

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Harcourt, 2001. Hardcover with unclipped dust jacket, 257 pages; very clean and unmarked unread condition.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine.
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ordinary white boy
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ordinary white boy

by clarke, brock

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Hard Cover. Harcourt 2001. First Edition. Unless Listed in this decription, VG or Better.
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The Ordinary White Boy
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The Ordinary White Boy

by Clarke, Brock

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Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2001. Boards have only light wear. Pages are clean, text has no markings, binding is sound.. First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
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The Ordinary White Boy

The Ordinary White Boy

by Clarke, Brock

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Harcourt, Inc., 2001. Later Printing . Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Dj has very light edgewear with light soiling. Light wear.
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The Ordinary White Boy
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The Ordinary White Boy

by Brock Clarke

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. First Edition. Acceptable. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way.
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The Ordinary White Boy

The Ordinary White Boy

by Brock Clarke

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2001. Hardcover. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Ordinary White Boy A Novel [advance Reader's Copy]
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The Ordinary White Boy A Novel [advance Reader's Copy]

by Clarke, Brock

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New York, ET AL: Harcourt, Inc.. Very Good. 2001. Advance Reader's Copy. Paperback. 0151008108 .
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The Ordinary White Boy
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The Ordinary White Boy

by Clarke, Brock

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Used - Very Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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The Ordinary White Boy
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The Ordinary White Boy

by Clarke, Brock

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Used - Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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The Ordinary White Boy
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The Ordinary White Boy

by Clarke, Brock

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Harcourt, 2001. Very Good Hardcover with Very Good dustjacket . Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good.
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