The Antagonist

The Antagonist

Written by: Coady, Lynn

Against his will and his nature, the hulking Gordon Rankin ("Rank") is cast as an enforcer, a goon -- by his classmates, his hockey coaches, and especially his own "tiny, angry" father, Gordon Senior.

Rank gamely lives up to his role -- until tragedy strikes, using Rank as its blunt instrument. Escaping the only way he can, Rank disappears. But almost twenty years later he discovers that an old, trusted friend -- the only person to whom he has ever confessed his sins -- has published a novel mirroring Rank's life. The betrayal cuts to the deepest heart of him, and Rank will finally have to confront the tragic true story from which he's spent his whole life running away.

With the deep compassion, deft touch, and irreverent humour that have made her one of Canada's best-loved novelists, Lynn Coady delves deeply into the ways we sanction and stoke male violence, giving us a large-hearted, often hilarious portrait of a man tearing himself apart in order to put himself back together.

Against his will and his nature, the hulking Gordon Rankin ("Rank") is cast as an enforcer, a goon -- by his classmates, his hockey coaches, and especially his own "tiny, angry" father, Gordon Senior.

Rank gamely lives up to his role -- until tragedy strikes, using Rank as its blunt instrument. Escaping the only way he can, Rank disappears. But almost twenty years later he discovers that an old, trusted friend -- the only person to whom he has ever confessed his sins -- has published a novel mirroring Rank's life. The betrayal cuts to the deepest heart of him, and Rank will finally have to confront the tragic true story from which he's spent his whole life running away.

With the deep compassion, deft touch, and irreverent humour that have made her one of Canada's best-loved novelists, Lynn Coady delves deeply into the ways we sanction and stoke male violence, giving us a large-hearted, often hilarious portrait of a man tearing himself apart in order to put himself back together.

Published By House of Anansi Press Inc — Aug 3, 2011
Specifications 352 pages | 5.25 in x 8 in
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Excerpt
Written By Lynn Coady is the author of the bestselling novel The Antagonist, which was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, as well as the novels Mean Boy, Saints of Big Harbour, and Strange Heaven and the short story collection Play the Monster Blind. 
 
 Website: 
 http://www.lynncoady.com/
 
 Twitter:
 http://www.twitter.com/lynn_coady
Written By
Lynn Coady is the author of the bestselling novel The Antagonist, which was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, as well as the novels Mean Boy, Saints of Big Harbour, and Strange Heaven and the short story collection Play the Monster Blind. 
 
 Website: 
 http://www.lynncoady.com/
 
 Twitter:
 http://www.twitter.com/lynn_coady

Short-listed, Scotiabank Giller Prize, 2011

Commended, Amazon.ca Best Books: Editors' Pick, 2011

Commended, Amazon.ca Best Books: Canadian Fiction, 2011

Commended, Globe and Mail Top 100 Book, 2011

Commended, Toronto Star Reviewers' Top 100 Books, 2011

Winner, Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction, 2012

Commended, Washington Post Top 100 Noteable Books, 2013

“[Lynn Coady] has a hearty wit and a piercing understanding of human nature . . . [she] has made herself one of our essential writers.” —Quill & Quire

“The Antagonist could have not have come at a better time. In our fast, media-saturated world, this novel gives the reader the refreshing and increasingly rare opportunity to take a closer, more compassionate look at someone wrongly judged by his outer shell.” —Rover Arts

“. . . thoroughly engrossing. . . a breathless and frequently hilarious narrative . . . one of the freshest voices in years.” —FASHION Magazine

“. . . a richly comic creation . . . a revealing effort in cross-gender empathy.” —Montreal Gazette

“A deft blend of farce, tragedy and wry social comment, The Antagonist is no mean feat.” —Toronto Star

“. . . far more complex than the hilarious one-liners that make her work so irresistible to read.” —Edmonton Journal

“In this coming-of-age tale, male friendships and relationships are explored in all their goofiness and complexity . . . [Lynn Coady is] one of Canada's best writers of fiction.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“. . . a readable, quixotic coming-of-age story, a comedy of very bad manners, and a thoughtful inquiry into the very nature of self. It’s the sort of novel -- and Coady the sort of writer -- deserving of every accolade coming to it.” —National Post