Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet

by Joanne Proulx

Overview

When 17-year-old Luke Hunter foretells the death of his friend with freakish accuracy, life gets complicated, fast. Everyone in Stokum, his rank little pinprick of a hometown, knows about the premonition and wants to know more. But Luke holds everyone—the local news crew, his buddy Fang, the Polish widow next door—at arm’s length as he lurches through his own personal minefield studded with previously unconsidered existential ponderings, Christian fundamentalists, a missing girl’s frantic mother, and a dream girl who isn’t his. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is a darkly comic coming-of-age novel that nails contemporary youth culture and sits comfortably alongside the recent offerings by Miriam Toews and DBC Pierre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735234444
Publisher:	Penguin Canada
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Joanne Proulx has had short stories published in literary magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, including Exile and Upstairs at Duroc. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is her first novel. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

Wise-ass narrator Luke Hunter is given to premonitions about death-some true, some false-and eventually has what he might call a spiritual-like epiphany. Proulx is pitch-perfect in her portrayal of the potty-mouthed, weed-smoking, angst-ridden adolescent narrator. The novel is framed by death scenes. The first is Stan's, a golden boy whose death Luke eerily and unaccountably foresaw. The last takes place at the cemetery where Stan is buried, where Luke reconciles himself to the difficulties of being fallible, sensitive and human. In between lies the story of Luke's presentiments about the death of friends and acquaintances, Luke's clumsy attempts to get closer to Stan's girlfriend (who mysteriously bumps into him at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert-another supernatural sign?) and the attempt of Pastor Ted to "wring Satan" out of Luke. Growing up in the spiritless town of Stokum, Mich., Luke spends much of his time monosyllabically avoiding his parents and especially his Uncle Mick, reputed to have an extrasensory power similar to Luke's. At the core of the narrative is Luke's awkward coming-of-age story, one complicated in his case by a gift-or curse-he can't control. The essence of Luke's world is his status as a loner and self-defined loser. Spiritual inquiries hold no interest for him. (When queried about what he has faith in, Luke's first thought is the advertising logo "Put Your Faith in Foster's.") Eventually, however, he develops a more serious perspective on ultimate mysteries through his friend Fang and through Stan's girlfriend, the aptly named Faith. By the end of the novel, by his own admission, he "even [manages] to figure a couple things out. One. Yeah, everyone is going todie. But first, we get to live." He also realizes that Stan was admirable and universally loved because he " ‘was cool, funny, smart . . . He wasn't afraid of being good.' "A debut novel that's sharp, edgy and slightly skewed-all qualities Luke consummately embodies. Agent: Samantha Haywood/Transatlantic Literary Agency

Kirkus Reviews