FREE

...a portrait of American life that is so hard and so heartbreaking that it should be unbearable, but it isn't. The straightforward beauty of Vlautin's writing, and the tender care he shows his characters, turns a story of struggle into indispensable reading. I couldn't recommend it more highly.--Ann Patchett

"Willy Vlautin's magnificent novel The Free is as raw as it is beautiful, as brutal as it is honest. But despite the difficult truths of his intertwined tales, Vlautin's characters will lift you up with their quiet compassion and profound dignity."--Ivy Pochoda, author of Visitation Street

."..a story of our times-about the lack of work, the cost of health insurance, the demonizing of war and the damage to life in the working class. Vlautin writes cleanly, beautifully about the people who hang on despite odds.... A fine novel...bounded by courage and kindliness."--Kirkus Reviews

"The Free is another outstanding book from one of America's most underappreciated artists."--George Pelecanos

"Brilliant and beautiful...what a gorgeous book. There are so few writers out there with such ambitious humility."--Sarah Hall

"A portrait of American life that is so hard and so heartbreaking that it should be unbearable, but it isn't. The straightforward beauty of Vlautin's writing, and the tender care he shows his characters, turns a story of struggle into indispensable reading. I couldn't recommend it more highly."--Ann Patchett

"Willy Vlautin is one of the bravest novelists writing.... An unsentimental Steinbeck, a heartbroken Haruf, Willy Vlautin tells us who really lives now in our America, our city in ruins."--Ursula K. Le Guin

"The Free is a graceful portrayal of an underrepresented side of American life. Willy Vlautin never overreaches, or takes the easy road, and his words have the heft of permanence."--Patrick deWitt, author of The Sister Brothers

..".a story of our times-about the lack of work, the cost of health insurance, the demonizing of war and the damage to life in the working class. Vlautin writes cleanly, beautifully about the people who hang on despite odds.... A fine novel...bounded by courage and kindliness."--Kirkus Reviews

Courageous, powerful, and mercifully refreshing, "The Free" is nothing less than an affirmation, that rare novel about lost souls which dares to be hopeful in the face of despair. Vlautin s hard knock characters will break your heart with their humanity and grace. --Jonathan Evison, author of "The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving""