Crooked Hearts

by Robert Boswell

After Tom, the most likely Warren to break the family cycle of self destruction, drops out of Berkeley, he finds that he and Ask--the two tormented middle-children--together form the eye of the Warren hurricane

Genres: Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Robert Boswell is the author of eleven books, including The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards, a story collection with Graywolf Press, in April 2009. His novels: Century's Son, American Owned Love, Mystery Ride, The Geography of Desire, and Crooked Hearts. His other story collections: Living to Be 100 and Dancing in the Movies. His nonfiction: The Half-Known World, a book on the craft of writing, and What Men Call Treasure: The Search for Gold at Victorio Peak, a book about a real-life treasure hunt in New Mexico (co-written with David Schweidel). His cyberpunk novel Virtual Death (published under the pseudonym Shale Aaron) was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award.

His play Tongues won the John Gassner Prize. He has received two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Iowa School of Letters Award for Fiction, the PEN West Award for Fiction, and the Evil Companions Award. His stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Stories, Pushcart Prize Stories, Best Stories from the South, Esquire, Ploughshares, Harvard Review, Colorado Review, and many other magazines.

He shares the Cullen Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Houston with his wife, Antonya Nelson.

Reviews

[Becca Loo]

it's about a boy who drops out of college and goes back home to live with his family to figure things out. his family is unconventional in that they always have a party for big failures. i like his family because they seem so real. they don't get along sometimes but it's cute. as always shit has to happen and it's completely unexpected so it works well. i only cried a few times but it felt really good. the ending made me sad and i wish he didnt make it so tragic but oh well. overall the story was pretty mellow and doesn't stand out too much but is definitely a feel good book.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boswell knows what families are like and describes the interactions well. Written and set in 1986. Each character tells his/her story in the end and does so poignantly. I enjoyed this find from a Little Free Library in our neighborhood.

[Jan Morrison]

I read this book years and years ago. I only remembered one thing about it. I knew I liked it. How strange a memory is.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could definitely tell this was Boswell's first novel. I have pretty serious dug everything of his I've read, and this was no exception. There were places, though, where dialogue or characters' actions felt wooden. Still loved it!

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a family who has shit luck. Nothing good happens to them and all they have is each other. While most would consider it a boring story with little merit, I find it to be a very telling story about how much family means. The complexities that exist within each relationship and how each person who experienced the same thing views it in different lights.

[Laura Cushing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slice of life story about the dysfunctional Warren family in the 1970s. Some of their dysfunction is fun and quirky, like throwing a party ever time someone fails at life. But there are darker dysfunctions, hints of mental illness, and anger between family members.

Some stick together, some try to escape.

The family is well depicted, and you really feel for them. Minus one star however because there is no big growth moment or overarching plot beyond the family that I felt that story could have used.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about the breakdown of the Warren family. When they are introduced they seem charmingly eccentric and quirky. Later, the charm slips away and the true anger and dysfunction appears. This was a first novel for Boswell and seems to have some typical first novel errors. The characters are interesting and the story has potential but it falls into melodrama by the end. When Tom Warren drops out of Berkley and returns home the family throws a party. The party is not necessarily for his homecoming. This is a family that celebrates failures and disasters. Oldest child, Charley is bitter and violent and angry. Middle brothers Tom and Ask are more even tempered but Ask is almost saint-like. He is charming and kind and optimistic. Youngest child, 16 year old Cassie is a bit of a wash. She's sloppy and sleepy and seems lost. She adopts a puppy and that results in a sickening, useless scene. There's much to like about Boswell's writing but the story is a bit too destructive and grim to suit me.

[Alex Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first 75% of this book was incredible. So good, that it warranted a 5 star review from me. The characters are complicated and living, the prose is mature and smooth, and the story is perfect. The last quarter of the book is by no means bad; I just thought that Robert put in a little bit too much plot. That is to say, if just one of the big events from the final acts were omitted, and it wouldn't matter which of the those events; I think the book would've been a little stronger.
All of that being said, I would still recommend this book to anyone. Robert Boswell is a tremendously talented author and I look forward to reading more from him.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a happy story, but I recommend reading this book. It's been a while now since I read it, so I don't remember it very well, but it is about a family and their troubles in getting along. The characters are well described, and I felt a great loss when my favorite character was accidentally killed. This family has so many difficulties to face, yet all are overcome with a party. Even the death of a son. This would be an interesting book to talk about.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe more of a 4.5? Just when I didn't think the story could possibly get any sadder it did. Almost too sad to really like or find realistic given the series of events. The characters were so well rendered though, and the plot so engaging, I found myself unable to put it down despite perhaps things feeling,at times, a bit too neat and tidy and like this would only happen in a novel.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this far less stimulating than the "wise, finished, and frequently brilliant" story someone at The New Yorker must have read. The characters marinated in flaws, as dysfunctional a family you'd ever hope to run across, there is no plot to speak of - just a period of time in this impulsive and chaotic family and three days in my life I'll never get back.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was assigned to read this by one of my creative writing professors. The writing and craft in this first novel by Boswell continue to set the bar for anyone attempting to explore the idea of family dysfunction. Heartbreaking prose.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. At first I wasn't sure why everyone in the story was so mean to each other, and then I understood...

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dysfunctional family trying to get along the best that they can.
The people in the story are touching and I couldn't help thinking about them after I finished the book.

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

so far so good