Bitter Is the Wind: A Novel

(Paperback, First Trade Paper Edition)

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Description

Do Americans live in a land of freedom and equality where people with vision, brains, and a strong work ethic can have rewarding lives Or is ours a society where well-being, dignity, and independence are reserved for a narrow elite Bitter Is the Wind is a coming of age novel that traces the lives of George Johnson, Jr. and his father from the rural blue collar landscape of upstate New York in the 1970s to the halls of Wharton Business School and the heights of Wall Street. After a family tragedy strengthens their familial bond, the Johnsons contend with assembly line monotony, unfulfilled dreams of baseball stardom, and they learn what it means to be tempted, trapped, jailed and ignored by a seemingly uncaring God. Jim McDermott opens a window on the American working class and its aching desire for financial security, recognition, and respect. His characters confront a modern world with limited possibilities, ambiguous mores, and authorities who seem devoted to keeping the brightest and most talented members of the underclass on the other side of town. Bitter Is the Wind is a deft and timely deconstruction of the American Dream.

Reviews

"Like [Raymond] Carver...McDermott has a way of beautifully and crisply illuminating the thoughts and feelings of solid, blue-collar Americans."
The Huffington Post

"A readable...story of generational tensions in America."
Kirkus Reviews

"I was struck by the clarity and simplicity of the prosewhich reminded me of Hemingway's Nick Adams stories."
Sami Moubayed, The Huffington Post

"Bitter is the Wind is a...good first novel...spiced with news events from the period that will bring back memories for anyone who grew up during the '70s."
Portland Book Review

"Coming-of-age new adult and adult readers will find much to like in Bitter is the Wind, a full-flavored read that provides more depth and social and economic background than most."
Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

"A fascinating character study and slice of life novel following two trapped men and how they attempt to cope with it. Honest and poignant, Bitter is the Wind is a promising novel and points to McDermott as an author to watch."
San Francisco Book Review

"Bitter is the Wind, is a heart-warming story of the interactions between a father and son after they face horrible tragedy and get older."
Manhattan Book Review

"A pungent slice of working-class life in 1970s America, as well as a deeply-affecting father-son story. Bitter is the Wind reminded me how hard it's always been to achieve success for those who weren't handed it on a silver platter."
Stephen Fife, author of The 13th Boy and Dreaming in the Maze of Love-Grief-Madness

"A compelling tale of American aspiration and accomplishment told from the perspective of characters customarily deprived of opportunity, working folk whose lives and voices are rarely presented in first rate fiction."
Frederic Hunter, author of The Girl Ran Away and A Year at the Edge of the Jungle

"Jim McDermott brings us a great read in Bitter is the Wind."
Akshat Review

Author Bio

Jim McDermott is a nationally recognized business litigation attorney based in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. He has worked on an assembly line and also represented multinational corporations. He is a graduate of Syracuse University and the University of Virginia Law School. Bitter Is the Wind, which he worked on for twenty-five years, is his first novel.